Most of us couldn't get hold of Super Bowl tickets, but getting together with friends to root for the Bengals is a close second. The best part about hosting your own Super Bowl party is watching the game while enjoying the three Fs: football, food, and more food. Too much food always seems to happen This year, you can develop a winning game plan to avoid food waste. 

Regardless of your team colors, there's one color we can all cheer for – Green. Super Bowl Sunday always generates a lot of parties with too much food being prepared and then discarded. What happens to all the wasted food? It ends up in the Franklin County Landfill. SWACO sees more than one million pounds of food coming to the landfill every day. 

TIPS TO LESSEN SUPER BOWL PARTY FOOD WASTE:

• Don't overbuy the food - Like most holidays and big gatherings, it's easy to stock your grocery cart with more than you think you need, which can lead to unnecessary food waste. Check out this Guest-imator tool to help determine how much food to purchase for the big game.
• Serving beverages in cans or bottles? - Make sure to have your recycling can out and marked with what's accepted. Franklin County's recycling program accepts paper & cardboard, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles, tubs and jugs, metal cans, carton containers and NOW CUPS. However, solo-style party cups are not accepted.
• Paper plates and plastic utensils - may be convenient, but they're not very green. These can not be recycled. Avoid this unnecessary waste by setting our reusable plates and silverware. 
• Make your own party mix - Purchase party snacks from the bulk bins in your supermarket to create your own specialty snack mixes, which saves money and reduces packaging waste.
• Love Your Leftovers - Even with careful planning, it's inevitable that you'll have leftover food. When planning your gathering, stock up on some extra food storage containers to send your guests home with tomorrow's lunch.

Every time you recycle, you're making an impact. You're helping hundreds of businesses who depend on recycling, supporting thousands of jobs that those businesses create, keeping these valuable materials circulating throughout our economy and helping to keep central Ohio green. Proper recycling takes only a few minutes, but the impact lasts for years. 

Together, we can make a difference.