5 Tips and Tricks for Sustainable Tailgating
When September comes to a close and October begins, football season is in full force. Where there is football, tailgating usually follows. To be honest, football and tailgating go together like peanut butter and jelly. Before you drive over to eat and drink with your friends outside of your favorite team’s stadium, you might want to think about the ways in which you can tailgate more sustainably. Tailgating sustainably will not only help the environment and its air quality, you might even feel good about yourself when doing it. If you need some assistance on where to begin, don’t fret. Continue reading.
Here are a few tips and tricks to tailgating with a healthier environment in mind:
Carpool to the game: Ask your friends if they would want to ride with you to the game. This will aid in reducing the amount of fumes dispersed into the air, improving air quality. This will help you, your children and your children’s children stay outside longer and enjoy football games and tailgates in the future. Wouldn’t you want that?
Bring reusable cups, plates and silverware: Instead of buying a bunch of disposable paper and plastic products, why not bring a reusable cup to the tailgate? You can even go one step further and buy hard, plastic silverware and plates to store and reuse during each tailgate. Yes, this means more cleaning, but having a cleaner environment is worth the extra time and effort.
Use a propane tank when grilling: Instead of using charcoal or wood, try using a propane tank when grilling at the tailgate. This goes for grilling at home, too. Even if you think your meat and veggies taste better using charcoal or wood, using propane to create a cleaner world tastes so much better.
Buy in-season fruit and vegetables: You know what else tastes good? Fresh, in-season fruit and vegetables. Buying in-season food will likely help you save money, and in the process you may even support local farmers that grow their crops in a sustainable manner. Check out The Spruce to discover what yummy items you should eat during your October tailgates.
Dispose of your waste properly: Make sure to recycle what needs to be recycled. Learn about what is recyclable here. Maybe even consider composting your uneaten leftovers from the tailgate, if you don’t think you will consume them in a timely manner. You can do this regarding all the leftovers in your life as well. *Pro Tip: You can use the compost in your garden to help your flowers and/or food grow.
There are so many more sustainable actions you can execute while watching your favorite game. You are not limited to just these five. You may even come up with some of your own in the process of implementing these. Now teach others what you have learned so they can begin tailgating sustainably too!
