Biodegradable plates and cups made of sugar cane fiber and utensils made of potato starch and vegetable oil will make your Fourth of July picnic more earth-friendly. $14 for pack of 50 utensils, $9 for pack of 50 plates. Available at branchhome.com.

By Karin Beuerlein

If the sound of "Stars and Stripes Forever" makes your mouth water, it’s probably because grilling out on July 4th has long been the most popular and delicious way to celebrate the birth of the nation. But although patriotism is timeless, the quintessential American cookout is crying out for an update—at least in terms of environmental sustainability. Raise your hand if the smell of lawnmower exhaust makes you crave a hot dog. Yes? You? Time to swap your gas-guzzler for a reel mower and rethink your party plan.

Old Way: Foam and paper plates, plastic utensils
New Way: Real or biodegradable dinnerware

It’s hard to imagine an Independence Day picnic without disposable dinnerware, but times they are a-changin’. The convenience of foam, paper and plastic is outweighed by their heavy impact on the environment, both when they’re produced and when they’re tossed.

Is it really so taxing to wash dishes after a party? Change your mindset and use real dishes—they don’t have to be fancy. If you’re a frequent party-giver, keep an extra inexpensive set of dinnerware for special occasions so you don’t have to worry about breakage or lost items. (Secondhand dishes are a sustainable choice, but be cautious about using old or handpainted china, as it can contain harmful amounts of lead. )

If you’re throwing a giant party or family reunion and can’t face the thought of a mountain of dirty dishes, or if your party is in a remote outdoor location, consider disposable dinnerware made of recycled paper or compostable plates made of starch or sugarcane. They’re affordable, durable and planet-friendly. If you don’t have your own compost pile, call your local nature center or post at a community bulletin board to find someone who’ll be glad to take good "brown" composting material off your hands.

Old Way: Disposable plastic flags, balloons, streamers
New Way: Your imagination

Disposable decorations are worse than disposable plates because they’re unnecessary—people will notice if the dinnerware is missing, but they won’t care if you don’t buy streamers. Instead of decorating with cheesy landfill clutter, use creative ways to add a patriotic feel to your backyard affair:

• For a dramatic serving-table centerpiece, create a representation of the American flag out of colored votive candles. (Artistic hint: the flag has thirteen rows of alternating red and white stripes, with a blue field in the upper left corner. The top and bottom stripe are both red. Fifty stars is great if you have an America-sized table and an unlimited candle budget, but otherwise a few white votives in the blue field make a nice touch.) On a smaller scale, simple clusters of red, white and blue candles also work just fine. Use soy or beeswax candles rather than traditional paraffin candles, which are petroleum-based and may emit unwanted additives into the air as they burn.

• Use flowers in plain glass vases, preferably locally grown. If you already have red ribbon lying around from Christmas, choose blue and white flowers (long-blooming hydrangeas are great) and tie the ribbon around the vase as an accent.

• Instead of streamers or balloons, festoon your deck with strands of mercury-free colored LED lights, which are even more energy-efficient than compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Old Way: Fireworks
New Way: Plain old fire

Large-scale community fireworks shows, long a July-4th staple, are a major source of heavy-metal poisoning in lakes and rivers. Store-bought fireworks are generally too small to cause significant heavy metal pollution , but if you knew how many fireworks injuries fill emergency rooms every July 4th (even from seemingly benign sparklers, which burn at very high temperatures ), you’d throw water on the whole idea.

Great parties aren’t about special effects, anyway, so opt for a simpler solution: light a circle of tiki torches and tell ghost stories. (Although we’ll throw out a pitch here for solar-powered LED tiki torches as well.) We bet your friends will remember your get-together for years to come.

Related Links
Bring a Green Host Gift
Green Up Your Party