If you’re planning an outdoor party, it’s challenging to stick to your principles when it comes to discarding the remains of the day. Given that Americans throw out nearly 100 billion plastic, paper and styrofoam plates and cups each year–most of which are made from petroleum-based plastics, hazardous foam or chlorine-bleached paper–isn’t it time we embrace the sustainable credo that waste equals food?

VerTerra dinnerware makes environmental mindfulness simple and elegant. Their lovely, light-weight biodegradable collection of plates, bowls, cups and platters means you can have your cake and eat it too without worrying about fattening up the local landfill.