Green Grilling & Eco-friendly Barbecues

By Sarah Casey and Debra Maurer

With the summer season and barbecuing holidays approaching, it’s time to get grilling! Cooking and entertaining for family and friends can get a little overwhelming, so the need to remain eco-friendly may slip lower and lower on your priority list. But it only seems right to extend our green efforts into backyard get-togethers and holiday celebrations—without giving up the fun.

Luckily, some green thinkers out there have come up with new ways to use technology in an eco-friendly way. Here are a few new green grilling options that’ll keep you (and Mother Nature) happy during your backyard barbecues and family picnics.

Solar Power

Solar power, a clean and renewable energy source has become a hot topic for green enthusiasts and innovators in recent years. There are now solar-powered barbecue grill options that use a reflective dish to transfer energy from sunlight to coils within the grill. The coils then heat up, allowing you to sear your solar steaks to perfection!

Hydrogen Gas

Barbecue grills powered by hydrogen produce zero emissions while in use. Relatively new to the outdoor products industry, there are only a few on the market, including one tabletop-sized model, which runs about $500. Along with its eco-friendly benefits, the use of hydrogen gas over propane or charcoal may also prove to be more cost-effective in the long run.

Ethanol Inserts

Looking for an eco-friendly alternative, but don’t want to ditch the grill you already have? The FlameDisk® by uGO may offer a solution. The FlameDisk is a removable disk that works with any grill. The disk contains ethanol made from locally grown corn in the Midwestern U.S. Just pop it into your grill in place of the charcoal or propane you’d typically use. Each disk allows for about 40 minutes of cooking time, and its aluminum casing is recyclable. Ethanol burns cleanly and generates significantly fewer pollutants than charcoal.

As with most green products, it’s a good idea to do some research to help you decide which alternative is has the types of eco-friendly qualities you’re looking for.

Green Up Your Barbecue Picnics

Once you’ve made your purchase, you can extend your green efforts a little further by purchasing paper and plastic products made with recycled materials. Even better, try containers and utensils made from PLA plastic, a compostable bio-plastic derived from corn, or plates made from sugarcane fiber—a material that is both compostable and renewable. (Just be sure to follow the directions when storing these products.)

Remember to place a recycle bin in your kitchen, patio, and backyard so guests can easily locate them. If everyone puts their cans and bottles in the recycle bins, it’s not only green, it’s also less to clean up!