recycling

naturenut7

So, for our wedding, our venue is in the second floor in an old victorian building.  It doesn't have a place to wash dishes and we have to get everything out that night.  We are going to use fancy plastic plates, etc, so they can get thrown away in the end.  We'd like to put up small signs on the hors d'ourve tables, dessert bar, and even the buffet, to ask our guests to reuse/recycle their plates and cups, so guests aren't just taking one, putting 1 thing on it and then tossing it and getting a new one.  Yes, this is to conserve waste and also to save our money so we don't have to buy a million plates just for all of them to get wasted.  My question for all of you is, what's a nice way to say hey, "save your plate"?  The only thing I've thought of is "to conserve waste, please save your plate".  Any other ideas are welcome, and saying about cups for the bar would be helpful too!

Avion22

Are you having it catered?    I'm pretty sure that in most states law requires people to get a new plate when re-visiting a buffet.  Your caterer may have to comply with these laws.   

lyndausvi

I would roll my eyes at a sign that says "conserve waste, please save your plate"  as I was picking up a plastic plate.  If you really want to conserve waste you would not have the plastic to begin with.

My answer is just get enough plates that people don't have to 'save' them.  Not sure how you except people to save a plate anyway.  People lose their drinks ALL.THE.TIME at weddings, why would plates be any different?

specialk84

It's really unsanitary to reuse a plate at a buffet. You need extra plates. I'm not sure what you mean by "fancy plates" you intend to throw away. If you are worried about waste, why not rent china?

dori851

If you're having it catered, see if your caterer has plates/china you can rent. I wouldn't put a sign of any kind telling people to save their plates. Like PPs said, I would just get extra plates & you can use the leftovers at a later date.

Avion22

If you're worried about the environmental impact, then maybe you could have people scrape their plates clean, then put the plastics in a separate bag that can be taken to the recycle center?   

Maggie0829

If you are having it catered see if your caterer can supply the china and such.  If they do, they are responsible for cleaning the plates, drinkware and silverware.

NicoleSahara

Don't make a sign, it will just make you look really cheap. Buy an extra 100 plastic plates or whatever, it shouldn't break the bank, even if you get nice ones. Also have you seen the silver plasticware? It looks a little nicer but it's still disposable.

mbody

Just get extra plates- enough that will cover people throwing their plate out and getting a new one. I don't like the sign idea.

Maybe you can put out a set number of plates and once you see the pile getting low, unwrap a new package. That way, you can return the unused plates in their package.

J&K10910

The phrase "conserve waste" does not make one bit of sense to me.

adamar15

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_recycling?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:b99519b7-cade-4061-b65e-2d1e4a66be88Post:9d8308c0-6e14-437a-a8e1-b73831de6716">Re: recycling</a>:
[QUOTE]The phrase "conserve waste" does not make one bit of sense to me.
Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]

Ha!  That's the first thing that jumped out at me. 

RussoWill

Are they saving plates for the cake? We bought white round paper plates from dollar tree for the cake (we had cupcakes)- 24 for $1! Maybe go that route if your concern is money. If your concern is the environmentl, I's get china that is reusable and not disposable.

RussoWill

environment* I'd*
Sorry for the misspells!

rosesarefree

If your concern is the environment, instead of asking guests to re-use (like other posters have said, it might not even be allowed and it's certainly not sanitary) I would try bio-degradable plates. I'm not sure I would want to ask guests to scrape and rinse their plate at my reception, so I wouldn't try to recycle them.

specialk84

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_recycling?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:b99519b7-cade-4061-b65e-2d1e4a66be88Post:9d8308c0-6e14-437a-a8e1-b73831de6716">Re: recycling</a>:
[QUOTE]The phrase "conserve waste" does not make one bit of sense to me.
Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]

<div>It makes me think of someone stockpiling bodily waste. </div>

LittleMissCutiePie

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_recycling?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:b99519b7-cade-4061-b65e-2d1e4a66be88Post:54d658fc-3bcd-47e9-8ada-d8a8fb3b1e5f">Re: recycling</a>:
[QUOTE]environment* I'd* Sorry for the misspells!
Posted by RussoWill[/QUOTE]

You know you can edit your posts, right?

jessicabessica

This post made me laugh after a long day.  I agree with Lynda, though.

jessicabessica

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_recycling?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:b99519b7-cade-4061-b65e-2d1e4a66be88Post:0553c19f-7d8e-43db-b682-eaeba728eea9">Re: recycling</a>:
[QUOTE]ok i guess i won't do signs....  just trying to keep down on people being wasteful.   and like i said before, we can't have china. we're on the second floor of an old building with no kitchen to wash the dishes.. words from my caterer.  I'm sorry i made this post laughable to all the rude people responding with my idea for sign wording..
Posted by naturenut7[/QUOTE]

You might want to see if you can rent from a place that will take everything back dirty (you just have to scrape off the food).  Post on your local board if you are serious about looking into that option.