“Compostable Disposables”

May 10th, 2010

Compostable disposables are a great idea for an eco-friendly party, right?  Well, maybe.

But let me back up a minute, first.  What is a compostable disposable?  Well, plastic (like, for plates, cups, silverware, etc.) can be made from petroleum.  That kind is definitely not compostable and you have to throw it out.  Plastic can also be made from corn, and dishes and so on made from that kind of plastic are marketed as being compostable.

007Technically, yes, it is possible to compost corn plastic.  But the best authorities I can find (Smithsonian Magazine, for instance), say that it can only be composted in very hot, commercial composting facilities.  Being curious about this claim, my husband and I tried some experiments, with the help of a friend who has a very good home composting pile.  We took some cups and lids from my husband’s coffee roasting business to our friend.  The cups were paper lined with a very thin layer of corn plastic.  The lids were somewhat thicker plastic, but thinner than a plastic water bottle, and far thinner than a plastic plate.

The cups were shredded (with the assistance of the friend’s gentle pit bull) and put in the pile.  The lids went in whole (since the dog wasn’t interested in them).  In a reasonable amount of time (a few months, I believe), the paper and thin layer of corn plastic disappeared into the pile.  So far, so good.  That was last summer.  A few days ago, we were back at the friend’s house, and she handed us a lid that had been in the pile for about 9 months.  It was intact, whole, undisturbed.  Even her warm, active compost pile had not been able to digest even that much corn plastic.  Apparently, it does take a hotter compost pile to compost them.

Here is the lid after sitting in a nice, warm, active compost pile for almost a year.

Here is the lid after sitting in a nice, warm, active compost pile for almost a year.

But where do you find a commercial composter that will take corn plastics?  You can search for them at Find a Composter.  Search by state and then under “Paper and Compostable Products.”  You will find that they do not exist in every state.  For instance, while there are nine commercial composters in the state of Illinois, not one of them takes compostable plastic.  Connecticut, on the other hand, has one such facility; California has fifteen.  You might find, however, that many facilities do not take composting materials from households.

What is the solution, then?  If you are throwing a party and want to keep it as eco-friendly as possible, use ceramic dishes.  Rent them from a nearby rental house to reduce transportation waste.  If you have to use disposables, consider paper.  It is a renewable resource, like corn, and is much more compostable.  And, as we discovered, paper cups lined with corn plastic are actually compostable, even in a home compost pile.  If you need disposable utensils, though, there aren’t any really good answers.  Something is going to be thrown away, whether it is corn plastic or petroleum plastic.

So, be wary of the claims of compostability.  This is new territory and there are still a lot of questions to be answered.

Posted in Eco-Friendly Events, Parties and Special Events, Weddings | No Comments »

Success Stories (4th in the Series)

March 24th, 2010

Here’s another event story from before the blog:

Three sisters wanted to throw a surprise birthday/anniversary party for their parents. Two of the sisters lived out of town; the third sister worked full time, had small children, and was going back to school, so she couldn’t do much planning. They needed someone to find a nice restaurant for the party, work with them to finalize the menu, arrange for decorations and set them up, and find a hotel for their guests. I worked with them on all these things, plus getting a birthday cake and finding another restaurant with a party room for brunch the next day. I was able to keep the costs under their budget and save them some headaches, as well. Their parents were beautifully surprised when they entered the restaurant’s party room to see all their friends and relatives from out of town there to celebrate with them.

Posted in Family Parties, Parties and Special Events | No Comments »

Legalities and Ethics in the Wedding Industry

March 2nd, 2010
There was no payment for referral of this vendor! Photo by Magical Moments Photography.

There was no payment for referral of this vendor! Photo by Magical Moments Photography.

The other day I was talking to Howard Kier of Magical Moments Photography about an upcoming job we are doing together.  We got to chatting, once business was done, and started to talk about some of the scams we have run into in this business.  I told him about the owner of a small, second-rate venue who had leaned on me to pay him 10% of my fee any time he referred a client to me.  Howard told me about the time he walked into a venue to start shooting photos for a wedding when the owner hit him up for a $100 fee just to work there.

And then he told me about some new rules put out by the Federal Trade Commission that regulate payment for endorsements.  He has even gone so far as to call the staff contact at the Bureau of Consumer Protection (a bureau of the FTC), one Richard Cleland, to clarify what effect the new rules have on the wedding industry and on the kind of payments that occur routinely.

As you may know, it is common for a vendor to pay a planner a percentage of their fee for a referral to a client.  Some venues also charge vendors a fee or percentage for the privilege of being on their preferred vendor list (or sometimes require them to advertise in their in-house magazine at the usual rates).  Under the new FTC rules, these transactions are legal ONLY IF they are disclosed to you, the client and consumer.

Here is how Howard described his conversation with Mr. Cleland:

Richard said when a venue provides a preferred vendor list, it is an endorsement from a trusted source. Any payments made by vendors to be on that list do fall under the endorsement rule and will have to be disclosed.

As I understand the rules, your wedding or event planner, is also a “trusted source” and should, therefore, also disclose any payments made by vendors for the privilege of a referral.  So, you have the right to ask whether there have been payments for referrals and you have the right to receive an honest answer.  (And if you have evidence of any funny business, you can complain to both the FTC and to your state’s Attorney General.)

In my experience, most vendors are honest folks who play by the rules.  Some of them may not yet be aware of the new rules requiring disclosure of payments.  And there are a few who are not to be trusted.  Use your best judgment.  And, as always, you can count on some of us, like me, who say up front, “I do not take payments for referrals.  Ever.”

Posted in Parties and Special Events, Wedding Planning, Weddings | 1 Comment »

The Meaning of Service

February 22nd, 2010
It's all about you.... Courtesy of sprungphoto.com.

It's all about you.... Courtesy of sprungphoto.com.

I was most honored to receive a very positive review on Yelp that described me as, among other things, having a “servant’s heart.”  At first, to be honest, I was not sure what kind of a compliment that was.  After all, I am a professional and consider myself to be a manager.

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that it is one of the highest compliments I could have received.  My work is in a service industry, after all.  My goal is to make magical things happen while remaining invisible, myself.  My focus is on my clients and on their wishes.  These are, I think, all the hallmarks of service.  If that is what is in a servant’s heart, then I do fit the description.

I’m sure that I came by this ethic by working as a theatre stage manager for so many years.  In the arts, the highest goal is to serve the artistic product.  There is no room for ego, so I learned to think less of myself and more of the art.  This has carried over into my practice as an events professional.  It’s not about me.  It is all about you.  And I am very pleased by the feedback that tells me that I am achieving that goal.

Posted in Family Parties, Parties and Special Events, Wedding Planning, Weddings | No Comments »

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