Green Your Child’s Lunch
August 6, 2008 by Peggy
When you send your kid to school with lunch this year, will it be trash free?
Next to paper, lunches are one of the biggest sources of waste in schools. Here are some tips on how to come closer to a trash-free lunch this year. And you’ll save money in the process.
• Replace juice boxes with reusable bottles filled at home.
• Use cloth napkins instead of paper.
• Make the plastic sandwich bag a thing of the past. Use containers like available with Laptop Lunches (shown) or Wrap-n-Mats.
• Don’t be afraid to send a real spoon instead of plastic. You can always buy a special lunch set of forks and spoons if you’re afraid of losing pieces of your silverware set.
• Invest in a reusable lunch bag. Paper lunch bags are for hyperventilating only!
• Ask your child to help clean and maintain all items inside the reusable lunch bag, and explain why it’s important to stop using disposables.
• Make lunch together. Instead of buying prepackaged convenience lunch items, spend some time with your child making lunch together. You might even try creating special lunch menus.
Do you have more ideas on greening your child’s lunch?
Image via reusablebags.com
I love those Laptop Lunch boxes. If my kids went to school they’d be using this for sure. But we’ve used Tupperware sandwich boxes for years and year. Anytime we go away and we take sandwiches this is what we use and my DH uses them for his lunch at work also. I never liked having my sandwich in a plastic baggie.
I’m fortunate that at my kids’ small private school they will heat up anything we want. So I can send leftovers or actual meals in a tupperware and the lunch lady will warm it up. I have been making homemade pizza pockets and sending them, what a huge hit with my kids!