It’s easy and fun to pack waste-free lunches with colorful reusable containers, utensils and cloth napkins!
Tips for waste-free lunches
1. Pack lunch in reusable containers or a lunch box. Wash and reuse containers for sandwiches and snacks.
- Many grocery stores offer food containers and lunch boxes – be sure to check that they are free of BPA, lead, PVC, phthalates, and vinyl.
- Lunch Sense and PlanetBox also offers safe, toxin-free products online.
- Reuseit lunch kits help with planning your kids’ lunches and offers alternatives to disposable items.
- ReUsies Snack and Sandwich Bags has a coupon in the Chinook Book and offers an alternative to disposable bags.
2. Choose durable bottles for drinks.
- Fill them with tap water, which is just as good as bottled water and at less than a penny per gallon, it's a great bargain.
3. Bring your own metal forks, spoons and cloth napkins.
Reuseit presents a number of tips and ideas about reusable items and waste-free lunch options in their video.
By planning ahead and creating weekly meal plans, you can reduce waste while shopping, too. Stock the fridge in one trip, and you’ll save time and resources too.
Check out other back to school resources in our previous kids in school posts.