We have just had the hottest weekend of the year and up and down the country barbecues will have been taken from sheds and garages, dusted down and prepared for cooking all kinds of meat. Barbecues have moved on in recent years and you can pay a lot of money for a top of the range one. With this in mind, ensure your household insurance covers theft from the garden, as you are outside more at this time of year. It is also easy to have a great barbecue without filling the air with C02 and filling bins with bags full of rubbish. With just a little thinking and planning, it is possible to turn your next barbeque into a green event, which will make it a lot friendlier on the environment.
The main star of a good barbeque is the grill. Most people use either gas or charcoal to cook the food, but they both have their drawbacks. A gas grill will rely on resources which are non-renewable, while a charcoal grill will release carbon dioxide into the air. Out of the two, the greener option would be gas. Unless your home has green power, in which case you may wish to go with an electric grill.
Since the meat industry is responsible for a lot of greenhouse gas emissions, maybe you could try throwing a vegetarian style barbeque. If the thought of that scares you then another idea would be to get the meat from your local farm or farmers market and buy organic if possible. Also do not cook too much food, leaving you with lots of uneaten leftovers. Another greener idea is not to use disposable dinnerware and paper cups, using plates will leave you with more washing up but you will have very little waste and by recycling all the bottles, cans, paper napkins and packaging you are again helping the planet.
A barbecue which is looked after properly will last for many years and give you many delicious meals. Instead of chemical cleaners, you could use natural alternatives, which can work better. Try cleaning your barbecue grill with a brush and a paste made by mixing water with baking soda. Use citronella candles to keep flies and bugs away from you it, is better for the environment than using a spray that contains harmful pesticides. And if it starts to get cold in the evening, as it often does in the UK, put a jumper or light jacket on, thus avoiding using a patio heater that seems to eat gas. Cheap home insurance is available and as opportunist thieves are always on the lookout, do not leave anything outside, even when just going in for a few minutes.