When I first had to look into buying a lunch box for my son, I knew exactly what I was looking for – waste free. I opted for the above- the Laptop Lunch box. No more plastic bags, no more paper bags and no more plastic utensils. Now while the lunch box was expensive, it is durable, waste free and well, I feel good about using it. It also inspires me to make healthier lunches for my son.
This is another type of waste free option that you can use. There is a wonderful blog called Wendolonia that has photos, menus and etc for waste free lunches. I love it! You should check it out. Besides, lunch boxes, we can actually use cloth napkins and real utensils. Now- that’s going green! The average kid generates 67 pounds of lunchroom waste in one year! That’s more than my 1st grader weighs-in trash.
I picked this topic for today because my son had a field trip and they were asked to brown bag. I just assumed that it meant bring your lunch with you. No- it literally meant we want you to bring your lunch in a bag and throw everything away before we leave to go back to school. Oops! I was horrified as I watched one class pull out all of their lunches that someone obviously instructed them to place their brown bags in a giant Ziplocs. They were all handed their lunches and told to place all the garbage in the Ziploc, then throw it away! Seriously, I can’t wait for Earth Day to see what that class will do for a project. What are we teaching our children. I was so proud when my son asked me where the plastic garbage was at our house. He finally understands that we recycle.
So, checkout http://www.wastefreelunches.org/ for more ideas on making lunch waste free. This also goes for all you working moms and dads out there. Bringing your own lunch saves so many resources. Think about the gas, the paper, the napkins, the plastic utensils, and bags we get stuck with when ordering out. Oh, and my favorite- all the money.