Week 1 Eco Challenge: Thanksgiving Dinner

Each Thursday we'll present an eco-challenge for our readers. They'll be simple suggestions for what you can do at home to embrace greener living. Feel free to leave comments about your successes and failures or any additional ideas we overlooked. You can also participate in the challenges on Facebook through the Green Piece Blog Eco-Challenges Group HERE.

This week's challenge, Thanksgiving Dinner ---

Thanksgiving is coming up and while it is often a time of excess, it shouldn't be a time of waste. This week, let's focus on what you can do to make your Thanksgiving get-together greener.

1. Go Reusable --- Avoid disposable plates, flatware, glasses, napkins and food packaging. By using your regular dishes and reusable storage containers you save money and garbage.

2. Encourage Recycling --- You'll probably be serving wine, beer and soda at your dinner. Leave out labeled baskets or cans so your guests can easily recycle their empty containers.

3. Buy Local & Organic --- Try the farmers market first. Buy local and organic ingredients that conserve more gasoline and keep chemicals out of the ground.

4. Carpool Guests --- If you're guests are coming from the same area, cut down on traffic, pollution and drunk driving issues by organizing a carpool.

5. Be Energy Efficient --- Your house will warm up with all that cooking and all those guests. Keep the heat off if unnecessary and crack a window rather than running the A/C if it gets too warm.