Tips for Running a Sustainable Christmas Market Stall

The Christmas period is notorious for producing tons of needless waste. From discarded wrapping paper to unwanted gifts, many Christmas-related items end up in landfills after the festive season is over. Unsurprisingly, a lot of this waste is also produced from Christmas food market stalls, particularly if they’re using plastic containers, knives and forks, which take an incredibly long time to break down.

In order to look after our planet, and have a wonderfully festive and jolly Christmas at the same time, W.F. Denny has come up with a number of ways you can swap your current Christmas market stall habits for more sustainable ones.

Use less energy where possible

Try turning your stall’s generator off during less busy periods, or using low-energy stoves and cooking pots to keep your items warm throughout the day.

If you are looking to decorate your stall, opt for LED or solar-powered fairy lights. Not only will they look incredibly festive and add a touch of Christmas magic, but they are much kinder to the environment than incandescent lighting.

Serve on palm leaf plates

Plastic plates and cutlery are often chucked into a bin with other non-recyclable items that take a long time to break down when they reach landfill sites.

To minimise this, serve your signature dishes on palm leaf plates - a biodegradable alternative made entirely from discarded palm leaf cuts of the Adaka nut palm. The leaves are collected and cleaned to create a uniquely patterned, eco-friendly plate ready for serving on; an affordable and planet-friendly option.

Have a recycling bin available to customers

Encourage customers at your stall to recycle their plates, napkins, and cutlery by having a recycling bin available next to your stall. This will reduce the chance of waste dropped and left littered around the Christmas market and you will also have peace of mind that the recycled products you are using will do just that.

We advise having a waste food bin available for compostable items so that customers can scrape their plates clean before disposing of them, as this will give them the best chance of being recycled.

Offer incentives

If you want to encourage your customers to be more mindful of their consumption, offer them reusable festive cups with their drinks purchase and take a deposit for them. This way, your customers can bring back their cup for a refill, have their deposit back, or take them home with them to use all-year round.

Ceramic camping cups provide a rustic feel and can be a great way to serve mulled wine and other festive drinks. What’s more, they can easily be washed out ready for their next use.

Display your products effectively

If you are a stall that produces products for your customers to take home and enjoy with their family and loved ones, such as a cakery or sweet shop, you’ll want to display your products in the best way possible, without compromising on the well-being of the planet. Plastic bags and containers are often non-recyclable, meaning that they can only be used once and then discarded.

With windowed card cake boxes, you can show off your beautiful pastries and sweet treats to entice passers-by as well as provide them with a recyclable, well-presented container to take them home in.

Only make as much as you need

Optimise your stock by only cooking and serving as much as you need for each day. As the evenings begin drawing to an end, start to make fewer of your dishes and products so that they are less likely to be wasted and result in being binned at the end of the night.

Alternatively, if you have many products left over, you could run a sale during the last hour of service to ensure that your remaining stock is sold and goes to a good home.

By following the above tips, you will be able to run a successful and sustainable Christmas stall and save money in the process. Remember to trade sensibly, and think about whether a product could have another use before you discard it.

For more sustainable tips this Christmas, visit our blog.