Alhamdulillah, FiTree just had our very first green iftar on the Monday, 15 July 2013. Held at Masjid Darul Aman, the event saw the mosque congregation gathering just before Maghrib to get ready for the iftar.
Prior to that, Ustaz also shared a short tazkirah on the importance of being environmentally-conscious as part of our responsibilities of stewards of the Earth. As the call for prayer got broadcasted, indicating the time to break fast, the jemaah started off with the dates, and continued with picking up their bowl of porridge.
‘How then, is this iftar greener than what that has always been done in the past’, you may ask.
Well, to start off, reusable utensils were used in this iftar. These include the dulang forthemain dish and cups for the drinks. Such utensils are excellent for the environment as it can always be washed and reused oer and over again. What makes it more awesome? Its cost-efficient! You need not have to fork out the money to keep buying disposable utensils for the more iftars to come!
‘But then, dulangs have always been used for iftars. What is so green about this iftar?’
Ah, introducing to you, CORNWARE!
Alhamdulillah, Masjid Darul Aman were really on board in greenifying their iftar. For the utensils where disposable ones hava always been used such as styrofoam bowls for the porridge and the spoon that comes along with it, we have replaced the, instead with cornware bowls and spoons! On top of that, cornware packing boxes were also used to pack extra food for some of the congregation to bring home. Cornbag were also given to the mosque to pack the porridge for those who have their iftar with their respective families at home.
What is cornware?
Cornware is a type of disposable tableware that is made from Origo; a starch based bio-plastic made primarily from corn and yam.
As compared to normal plastic and styrofoam tableware, cornware is more environmentally-friendly because it’s
1. BIODEGRADABLE : It will become ‘nothing’ in a few months or years, while styrofoam and plastics will remain intact in the Earth for hundreds of years.
2. CARBON-NEUTRAL: Cornware is made mainly from natural plant materials. When Cornware is burnt, the net amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere does not increase. However for styrofoam and plastics, they are made from petroleum. So when they are burnt, carbon dioxide is released from petroleum, increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Too much greenhouse gases is the cause of climate change, which is very bad for our natural environment!
So in the future, when you decide to have friends and family over to your place, why not try to greenify your iftar.
Here’s some tips to how:
1) As far as possible, refrain from using disposable utensils. Those reusable ones are the best as it can be used over and over again without taking away any of the Earth’s space.
2) Dulang is great as well as you will probably use less water to wash that one big dulang as compared to washing four to five plates. Best part of using dulang: sitting with your family and friends over food.
3) Yes all the food may seem delicious. But do take the proportion that is just enough for you. If it’s your rezeki, insyaallah you may come back for seconds. Besides, its sunnah anyway!
4) When everyone is done, pack your food in cornware packs. Yes they may be more expensive in your nearby supermarket, but if you order them from the supplier, you may get them at cheaper prices!
So we hope you will consider to green up your iftar and have agreat Ramadan ahead of you.
Go green! Its part of our Deen.
greenfitree.org 
