You might have just finished the holiday cleanup, but that doesn’t mean big gathering are over, specially if you are a football fan! Super Bowl parties are a sacred tradition of Americans; a day devoted to spending time with friends, reviewing commercials, and eating game day food. Food is one of the main highlights of the big game. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, every two of five people who watch the Super Bowl aren’t even football fans – they just join in for the food.

With celebrations comes a huge potential for waste. But, do you really need a disposable tablecloth that looks like a football field, a swirly decoration with a paper football at the end hanging from your light fixture or disposable utensils with your favorite team’s logo to enjoy the game?

This year, let’s throw a Super Bowl party that’s as kind to the planet as it is fun. Here are just a few Super Bowl party ideas to make your game day greener while having a blast rooting for your favorite team!

• Plan, Plan, and PLAN: The smartest way to start party planning is by making a detailed shopping list to prevent an extra trip or two to the grocery store. This will prevent wasting time, gas, money (and pollution) by having to rush back to the grocery store.
• Ditch the Disposables: Don’t use those plastic cups, plates, knives and forks that will clog the landfill space forever after one use. Use your everyday reusable utensils (borrow if you don’t have enough). If the concern is handing real plates to a hoard of crazed football fans, buy a disposable brand that is compostable.
• Buy Local and Sustainable: On average, Americans consume about 1.25 million wings – altogether, that’s 100 million pounds of poultry – on Super Bowl Sunday. Buy your party protein and other ingredients from local, organic and sustainable sources. You’ll help lower the carbon footprint of your food while supporting local businesses.
• Opt for Bulk Packages for Staple Items: If serving filtered or tap water in a pitcher is not an option, go for the big containers, 2.5 gallons or more. Same goes for beer and soft drinks too. A keg of beer will help reduce the glass or aluminum used for manufacturing single serve packing.

• Be Creative with Décor:When decorating for your Super Bowl party, try to get creative and think of ways to upcycle things you already have around the house into team-spirited theme. Ask friends if they have any reusable decorations you can borrow for the big day.

• Preventing Food Waste: Send friends home with leftovers. Tell your friends to bring containers to the party so they can take home leftovers and keep you from eating junk food for the rest of the week. Other idea is to use small plates so that you can reduce half eaten food going to waste.
• Use Leftovers: If you have unopened food products such as potato chips or canned chili, take them to a local homeless shelter or food bank.
• Recycle and Compost: Put out separate, clearly labeled bins for recycling, compost and trash. Encourage recycling by showing guests ahead of time what goes in which bin.

And lastly, if you’ll like to lose one of those NFL jerseys for reasons best known to you, make sure you find a USAgain bin to recycle it. May the best team win on Super Bowl Sunday!