Plastic free picnic

What can you do?

Host a picnic with friends, family and community members to share the solutions that are part of Plastic Free July.

How can you do it?

Get your tribe together – it’s time for a picnic. And really, who doesn’t love sharing some food with friends, family, and workmates in a beautiful park somewhere?

Start by picking out a date and time that suits most people (make sure you consider the weather and if it’s going to be a busy holiday period when lots of people are away). Then, it’s time to start getting prepared for your picnic!

Be sure to bring along food and drink that’s not wrapped in plastic. You can do this easily by buying food from local bulk food stores, checking out farmers markets, and making it yourself from scratch.

Here’s some inspiration to get you started:

• Bake your own crackers – there are dozens of great recipes online.
• Bring water in a reusable bottle (and encourage others to do the same!)
• If choosing to bring soft drink, consider cans instead of plastic bottles or DIY with a fizzy drink maker.
• Make sandwiches and put them in reusable containers or beeswax wraps.
• Bring along nuts and treats from the local bulk food store.
• Buy corn on the cob and make delicious popcorn at home. Bring it along in a reusable container.
• Stock up on cheese at your local bulk food store – remember to BYO container.
• Bake a cake and bring it along as a sweet treat.
• Bring reusable cutlery, plates and glasses. You can encourage everyone to bring their own (which saves you on washing up). If you do leave in your guest’s hands, remember to bring some spares just in case anyone forgets.

Taking the next steps:

The only thing better than having a picnic is… having another one! After the success of your first one, think about whether you want to host a picnic on a regular basis. It could even catch on and become a big thing in your community.

To make your picnic fun and festive (and help people find you in the park), use bunting to decorate. These are more environmentally-friendly than balloons, and you can use them again and again.  

If there’s any food scraps at the end of the day (like fruit rinds), be sure to take them home and compost them. Be sure to encourage people to take any yummy leftovers home, too, rather than throwing them out.

Once you’re on a roll with your picnics, you could look into hosting a film screening , beach clean-up or workshop on plastic free solutions as part of your plastic free community series.

Making an impact:

• A plastic free picnic brings people together around a common goal. It’s always good to start small – from little things, big things grow.
• Empowering people with the skills to go plastic free, even just for one meal, is a great way to kick-start a bigger change. At the picnic, you can share ideas and recipes to expand each other’s knowledge.