Reusable rather than single-use picnics in the Münsterland region

Picnicking is a way of life! You’re bound to be familiar with that special feeling you get in summer when you’re enjoying delicious food and snacks in a lovely meadow, surrounded by nature.

If a bit of rubbish is produced in the process, it’s usually not a problem – as you can dispose of it in a bin at many picnic spots. But wouldn’t it be better if picnicking didn’t produce any rubbish in the first place? After all, when you’re picnicking, you’re at one with nature and enjoying some time out in the open air. You can do without bottle tops, paper plates and plastic cutlery!

We’ve put together the ten most important tips for your next ‘reusable rather than single-use’ picnic.

10 tips for a reusable rather than single-use picnic

Tip 1: Reusable bottles

No picnic without drinks! There are many different types of reusable bottles: You can take cold drinks such as juices or lemonades in returnable bottles with caps (e.g. swing-top bottles), and for hot drinks such as tea and coffee there are wonderfully light and reliable thermos flasks. What always works: good, inexpensive tap water, bottled in stainless steel bottles, for example.

Tip 2: Crockery from the kitchen cupboard

Thick-walled picnic glasses are available with lids and washable straws to keep your drink insect-proof. For coffee and tea, lightweight stainless steel cups are a good choice - or simply older ceramic cups. Good materials for plates and dessert bowls are, for example, enamel or stainless steel - take a look in the camping department of various shops.

Tip 3: Cutlery from the drawer

We take forks, knives and spoons out of the kitchen drawer at home. You can put the cutlery in a so-called cutlery roll or simply wrap it in a fresh tea towel. This way you also have a washable cover for your dirty cutlery.

Tip 4: Food in screw-top jars

Salads and dressings, dips and barbecue sauces, spices and spreads, or even fruit and delicious desserts can go into the picnic basket tightly sealed in screw-top jars. Where do you get them? You can use empty cucumber or jam jars as screw-top jars, for example.

Tip 5: Bread in a cloth bag

You can take bread, rolls and baguettes with you in a clean cotton bag or in a so-called furoshiki cloth. Furoshiki is a Japanese technique of knotting a cloth as a wrapper, carrier bag or gift wrap. We wrap our bread knife in a strong tea towel.

Tip 6: Beeswax cloth

A beeswax cloth replaces materials such as cling film or aluminium foil. You can use it to transport and store cut fruit and vegetables as well as sandwiches. You can also use it to wrap up leftovers after a picnic.

Tip 7: Cloth napkins or small cloth towels

Cloth napkins are, of course, the main substitute for their disposable counterparts. But if you take several small cloth napkins with you, you are also prepared for small and larger mishaps. For example, you can use old, cut-up tea towels, which you can also moisten at home and take with you in a screw-top jar - ready are the homemade wet wipes.

Tip 8: Wrap up leftover food

What is left over from the picnic goes into the emptied screw jars or is wrapped in beeswax cloths. Perhaps you have also packed one or two stainless steel tins for this purpose?

Tip 9: Fabric bags for used items

The used dishes and cutlery fit into the (also used) dish towels and then into cloth bags. Or in the furoshiki cloth, if the bread has found its way into your belly. At home, cloths and bags go into the washing machine.

Tip 10: Cool

The classic is of course the cooler bag, which comes in many sizes and formats. For drinks, a thermos flask is a good option. Many stainless steel bottles offer appropriate cold-keeping functions. By the way, you can buy cooling sleeves for individual bottles in household goods shops.

Or you can wrap the chilled bottles in newspaper, which also keeps the temperature - at least for a while. Of course, you take the newspaper with you - dry it at home and then put it in the waste paper. No waste! If you're having a picnic by a body of water, you might want to put the drinks you brought with you in the stream, lake, river or sea.