From my wedding event, we produced 68 kg of organic waste, 10 kg of recyclable waste and 13,7 kg of residual waste. Not so proud of the result but we have done our best. The last effort that we could do to prevent the waste from polluting the earth is by managing it properly. For the organic waste, we proceed by burying it in our garden so they can decompose naturally. For the recyclable waste, we sent it to the recycling company to be recycled. And for the residual waste we sent it to the landfill to be processed. Most of the waste that we produced were leftover, food scraps, flowers, organic tableware & cutleries; plastic tableware & cutleries; cigarette butts, multilayer plastic sachets and tissues.
So, what makes a wedding waste-less and how did we do it?
1. Look for the closest and nearest help
From the beginning, I wanted my wedding to be handled by my closest family, friends and relatives. I wanted to use and maximize the resources that I already had, also I wanted my wedding to be organized with the good hearts and the highest intention. For me, energy exchange is very important and that's why I wanted to work with the people I have been living with because I knew they would pour their hearts into the works, and that's what made the wedding felt so special. After I have mapped what they could do for my wedding, I started to search for the help from the nearest resources like neighbor or wedding vendor in my area to fill in the vacant positions.
But, before looking for the nearest vendors, we needed to decide our wedding venue first. For me, because (again) I wanted to maximize my resources so I chose to hold my wedding at my parent's house since it already had enough space for the wedding ceremony, plus we could use the budget for other things. After deciding the venue, I started to look for the nearest and best vendors that would fit our budget to take care the specific works. Fortunately, we successfully sourced the perfect vendors to help us manage the wedding, from the catering, make up, attire, decoration, entertainment to the wedding organizer. Besides efficient, working with the people in the same area could reduce a lot of carbon footprint since there were a lot of visits and meetings to be done.
2. Always choose to reuse first
Wedding events require a lot of stuff that would potentially become waste if you don't curate carefully. Disposable items are usually preferred because they are easier to handle. Just throw it after the use, and everything's done! In contrary, reusable items take more care, and I know how tiring it is to manage the wedding, so it is really understandable if people want to make it as easy as it can be. I don't know specifically on the average number of the Indonesian wedding waste that are produced, but I guess it's A LOT! So, I rather do more works than adding more number to the data by reusing things as much as I could.
The first thing that I did was listing down all the items needed, then searching them in my own house. For example, I needed this specific reusable plate made from rattan for the guests, and because my mom had it, so we searched it in the storeroom and counted it to make sure whether they were enough for all the guests. The next option if we didn't have the items was to ask our friends. As I have made some events previously with my friends so I checked on them whether there were assets that I could use for wedding decorations.
When it wasn't available, then we would rent it from the vendors. For the attire of bride, groom and the main family, we just rented it all from the wedding studio even though there were only limited style available. We rented because most likely we would only wear them for my wedding, so why should we make or buy the new one? Plus there wasn't enough time to custom our own attire so renting was the best option. Basically the idea here is to reuse and explore what we already have and minimize to purchase or make new items, especially the single-use one.
3. When it's impossible to reuse, buy or make the most sustainable one
I know it's impossible to be 100% sustainable and that's totally fine! When you can't reuse, the next sustainable option is to make sure whether the item you'll purchase or make is local, biodegradable, reusable, made from good quality material or something that you really really really like you just can't resist. Example of items that we needed to make on our own because no vendor provided these items were table, chair and food stall that were made from bamboo so they're biodegradable and of course reusable. Another example is we had to use disposable organic tableware and cutlery made from sugarcane, wood and bamboo due to limited reusable tableware and cutlery. Example of item that I made custom even though there were other sustainable options out there was my wedding ring! I just needed to have this one because I really in love with the brand and the product, so I gotta have it, period. 😜
But no matter how much we tried to keep the wedding sustainable, it was inevitable to produce waste. We still used disposable plastic cutlery and tableware, still provided disposable bottled water, still purchased single-used medical mask, tissue, and many many other things due to our limited budget, time, and power. And I am totally fine with it, it doesn't make me feel guilty, sad or disappointed because as long as we live in a broken system, we have to compromise with a lot of failures and imperfections.
4. Inform and include everyone to participate
From the very beginning, I have shared to my big family that I wanted this wedding to be sustainable. Not just because it was our responsibility, but I also wanted to show people that sustainable wedding is actually possible and doable. So, my family knew in their mind that I would debate any idea or option that wasn't sustainable even though I would follow at the end if there weren't better option. Not just my family, but I also made sure my vendors knew that I wanted everything to be eco-friendly, for example I asked the vendors to use only local and not imported flowers for the decoration, to use banana leaves instead of plastic sheets for the food, to use recycled paper for the print invitation and to minimize the packaging for the souvenirs. We also reminded the guests to recycle the print invitation, and put a signage at the venue to ask the guests to take only what they can finish. It was necessary to put a little more effort to make sure that everyone was informed and contributed to produce as less waste as they could.
5. Sort and manage the waste separately
Just like what I said in the beginning, this is the very last effort you can do to make sure your wedding give only little impact for the earth. Make the right system to manage your wedding waste. We failed to put different bins for different waste at the venue, so we just sorted the mixed waste after the event and proceed accordingly. It would be so much better if you can put different bins from the start, because we then had to open the trash bag one by one to sort it, and had to deal with maggots, flies, leachate, bad smell, etc even though I personally didn't mind.
So, that's basically it! Five key ingredients that I think contribute in making my wedding waste-less. I hope it helps you if you're planning on your sustainable wedding. Feel free to ask anything or add your ideas on how to manage a waste less or sustainable wedding in the comment section below. Lastly, I wanna give a shout out and credit to my vendors who have helped us so much. If you're looking for wedding vendors in Jabodetabek area, especially in Bekasi area you can count on them!
Mahar, Seserahan & Ring Box: Hanifana Jakarta
Wedding Attire, Make Up, Paes & Accessories: Sanggar Shafira
Family Make Up: Latsu Makeup
Decoration: Yours Decoration
Catering: SHSD & Dapok Kak Ros
Souvenir: Hita Tea
Print Invitation: Odelo Home
MC & Wedding Organizer: Abang Mpok Enterprise
Entertainment: Arikent Entertainment
Wedding Rings: Mahija & Rockologist
Documentation: Romant Project
P.S I broke down more behind the scene story of my wedding on my instagram story, you can check them on the highlights '#1 Wedding' and '#2 Wedding'.
*Pictures are taken from various resources.
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