Getting ready for a jubilee street party? Read this first

I love a street party as much as – if not more than – the next person. I’ll be the first to arrive and the last one leaving. And if the Queen is offering us a reason to throw a street party, I’ll happily use that excuse. Bring on the flag waving.

But – and you knew this was coming – please think of the waste that all too often accompanies these events. And it’s not just the amount of rubbish generated that we should be mindful of, it’s also the type of waste.

Remember those "Keep Britain Tidy" signs we used to see everywhere? I don’t know why they have gone missing, but I think they were a good reminder that keeping our local areas clean is also a patriotic duty. This weekend, the campaign is urging people to keep their platinum jubilee party “Green for the Queen”.

This problem of wastage has become worse over the last couple of years. During the pandemic, there was a massive increase in the use of disposable plastics in the form of Covid test kits, and PPE items such as masks, gloves and aprons. The impact on the environment has been catastrophic. All the plastic we dump degrades and is already leeching into our water and food. Every day we are eating more microplastics without even realising it.

So here are some tips for saving your street party from becoming an environmental disaster.

Firstly, single-use items are best avoided. You could use plates and cups from home (remember that cupboard full of mugs you rarely bring out?) and decorate with homemade fabric bunting instead of buying the tacky-looking, plastic stuff.

If you can’t use cutlery from home, use bamboo and wood alternatives, and paper plates, cups and signs where possible. Paper is not only easier to compress into a smaller space, it is also biodegradable. You could bypass the need for cutlery entirely by making finger foods like sandwiches, bite-sized canapes, muffins and cupcakes.

Try crafting your own bunting from old paper, cardboard, magazines, or even cut-up clothes. Balloons are made out of rubber and therefore biodegradable, but they can only be used one. Avoid them if you can, as they can harm wildlife if ingested by mistake.

To reduce food waste, encourage fellow guests to take extras home, or work with local organisations such as homeless shelters to ensure that leftovers go to those in need.

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In the UK, we generate around five million tonnes of plastic waste every year, and nearly half of this is plastic packaging. For decades, we shipped our plastic waste to countries like China, but a few years ago they stopped accepting it. We have to deal with our own plastic now.

Moreover, only a tiny per cent of plastic waste is recycled. The vast majority goes into landfills, and that waste mountain is getting bigger every year.

Some local authorities have been taking notice. In Maldon, Essex, the council has asked residents to throw “sustainable” jubilee street parties and urged everyone to bring their own crockery and beer glasses. In South Gloucestershire, residents are being asked to fashion their own jubilee crowns out of cardboard boxes.

Some waste will be inevitable. That’s the nature of parties and one-off celebrations. But we can at least make sure that the legacy of these once in a lifetime jubilee celebrations isn’t tonnes of plastic soiling our country for thousands of years to come.