Sustainable Suburbs

You know that the Green Movement has become mainstream when the professional football crowd gets involved. So if you’re getting together with friends to watch the game (or just the commercials) this Sunday, consider these tips to make your Super get-together a little more eco-friendly.

Let’s start with invitations – skip ‘em. Send an evite, e-mail or text, or just stand up and walk over to your buddy’s cubicle and say, “Party. My house. Sunday.”

When it comes to plates and utensils, save some money and landfill waste and just use your own plates and utensils. Whatever you do, avoid polystyrene cups; they stick around this planet longer than Keith Richards, and not in a good way.

The food: We love Bowl day not just because of the game, but because it is a great excuse to strap on the feedbag and get our snack on! The good news is there’s plenty of opportunity to get beyond greasy chips and tubs of dip and do something different.

Veg on the couch. There are about 100 million cattle in the U.S., which accounts for roughly 20 percent of our country’s methane emissions. So try some vegetarian options (this link made me hungry, although that isn’t hard to do). I mean, Madonna is doing the half-time show, so it’s definitely a new era.

When picking your beverages, go bigger. Two-liter bottles and kegs use less packaging than individual cans and bottles. You can also opt to try brews from the growing list of local craft beers in our area.

You might have leftovers, so be responsible with them. Send your guests home with some, or compost it. If you’re having your bash catered, have them donate the leftovers to an area food bank or soup kitchen.

Speaking of being responsible, car-pool with a designated driver. Not only will you put less cars on the road, but you’ll keep those cars from running into other cars. Seriously, I don’t want you swerving into my lane.

And finally, it’s not a green tip, but just a generally good idea: root for the New Jersey Giants.