We have a big costume party for Halloween every year. This year, as I've been trying to reuse, reduce, and recycle, I'm thinking about ways I can make our party more eco-friendly. It's the only time we ever use disposable plates/bowls/utensils (glasses/beverage containers/serveware are all glass, and reused year to year). All plastic/fabric tablecloths are reused year to year as well, so there's really not a lot of actual waste anyways, aside from that disposable tableware & glass beer/wine/liquor bottles (which is unavoidable, since there is no glass recycling available here).

So I've posted a question in the compost forum to make sure it's okay to compost paper plates with that waxy coating on them. From what I've "heard" here, they should be fine in the compost. So I'll compost those and the paper napkins, which solves that problem. We normally serve chili in styrofoam bowls, but won't be doing that this year, so no more bowl waste. Which just leaves the eating utensils.

Has anyone here used the compostable utensils before? If so, did they hold up pretty well? I don't have hot compost piles, so I'm not even sure they'd be a reasonable option, but I'd be willing to try if they work well. Maybe those made from bagassee (spelling?)?

Or should I pick up some cheap sets of metal utensils at the dollar store to avoid using plastic at all?

I plan to put out separate bins for people to use for compostables, cans, and garbage (beer bottles). I find that most get left on the counters/tables anyways, which isn't a problem, since then I can sort them myself afterwards.

What would you to to make a party "eco-friendly"?