Since lunchtime waste is a large part of the school waste stream, what kinds of things are being thrown out? Besides wasted food, juice boxes, brown paper bags, and packaging from single serve foods, about "380 billion plastic bags (that's about 1,200 plastic bags a person)" (50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth, 2009) are being thrown away.
Those numbers are staggering! And when I thought about wrapping my foods in petroleum-based plastic that ends up in the landfill, it turned my stomach even more. So, slowly but surely we are changing our ways at our house. We haven't bought ziplock baggies for some time now. Instead we are using Tupperware-type reusable containers, reusable fabric sandwich and snack bags, and aluminum foil. I've purchased several that I really like from SnackTaxi.com, Resnackit.com, and wrap-n-mat.com. Even though they cost between $5-$7 over the long haul they are well worth it, and I know we are not contributing to landfill waste. They are easy to clean, and come in cool patterns too. Although 4 of us use the bags without complaint, I'm still trying to convince Tiger-Lily and Rosebud that these are a great idea; in the meantime, much of their lunch is packed in the reusable plastic-ware, or recycled aluminum foil (that they return to our recycle bin).
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