JESSICA KOCH: Patth to an eco-friendly barbecue

With warm weather finally on the doorstep, many of us will be firing up the barbecue and inviting a few friends over for a casual meal. But let’s not be casual about the impacts of those barbecues on the environment.

From disposable plates, napkins, and cutlery, to the fossil fuels expended to transport out-of-season and packaged foods to your door, a simple barbecue can quickly become a less-than-green affair.

Fortunately, there are many ways to avoid the waste and garbage pile-up, while enjoying perhaps the best barbecue you’ve ever experienced.

Let’s start with food.

Seasonal foods on Vancouver Island are abundant, and perfectly suited for an outdoor feast. Skewer local produce like tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and onions and roast slowly. Throw a couple ears of Vancouver Island sweet corn onto the grill, available in-season at most farmers markets and grocery stores.

Choose any meat carefully – opt for animals raised by local farmers dedicated to avoiding the use of hormones, antibiotics, and animal-byproducts.

Citywide farmers markets are an easy way to collect all your meal needs, and are a great way to spend a Saturday morning. Check out bcfarmersmarket.org/directory to find one near you.

Once you’ve got your wonderful, healthy food together, you’ll need to decide how you’re going to cook it up in a way that is equally healthy and environmentally sound.

There are a range of different types of barbecues, including charcoal, propane, and electric. Some are better than others for different reasons.

In all instances, avoiding the use of petroleum-based lighter fluids is key as these are notorious air-pollutants, and though it may not seem like a huge amount, just imagine the cumulative effects of thousands of barbecues all at once.

And since there are alternatives that use no lighter fluid, like charcoal chimneys, there’s really no excuse to use them anyhow.

Electric barbecues are definitely a good bet for obvious reasons – nothing burning means no fumes released.

Propane is a fairly clean-burning fuel, and also a good option.

But realistically, there are many among us who crave that old-fashioned charcoal flavour. And there are charcoal varieties that are much better for the environment than others.

Lump charcoal is better than briquettes, as it produces less ash and lacks much of the charcoal dust and other preservatives and binding agents used to keep briquettes in one piece – things that release carcinogens and other pollutants not only when burned, but as dust floating in the air.

Also look for charcoal derived from invasive tree species or from sustainably managed forests, as charcoal obtained from native forests has historically been a major motivation for deforestation.

Now all you need is a responsible way to serve your tantalizing treats.

The absolute greenest way to do this is of course to just use your everyday dishes and cutlery, and throw everything in the dishwasher afterward.

However, if the thought of dozens of greasy, sticky plates and cutlery is decidedly not your cup of tea, there are versions of all these that begin to biodegrade within six months, provided they end up in a compost pile with other food items.

Some of these utensils are made of corn-based plastics or sugarcane fibres, while other sturdier versions are made from bamboo stalk – a highly renewable resource. There’s really no excuse for landfill-cluttering plastics and papers anymore.

Like summer, all good things must come to an end.

Once the last guest has left, toss the scraps into the compost or directly onto your garden soil and restore your patio table’s natural shine with an all-purpose green cleaner. Voila: a healthful and environmentally responsible barbecue success!

Jessica Koch writes about living green every other Wednesday. She can be reached at jkoch@vicnews.com.