Createa Waste-Free Lunches

Create Waste-Free Lunches

By Nick Harter, President, Indiana’s Green Network, Inc.

http://www.IgniteIndiana.org

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The amount of waste created by Americans is astounding. We have become a culture completely accustomed to disposable items. We think these throw-aways are convenient and save time. The problem that is not seen directly by most Americans is that all of this waste has to be created somehow (usually by pollution generating means) and go somewhere (landfills, littered land, and even the ocean) after its limited use is over. Many of these disposable products are made from petroleum byproducts and create pollution in the manufacturing process. According to the Energy Information Administration, the average American throws away over 4.5 pounds of trash each day!

How can we avoid creating such excess waste? One way is to do our part to limit the amount of disposable materials we use, and instead try to reduce and reuse the resources we use. This guide will show you how to create a waste-free lunch. This guide is mostly geared towards children’s school lunches, but is completely applicable to adult’s lunches as well.

WHAT DOES A WASTE-FREE LUNCH LOOK LIKE?

A Typical American Lunch
(DISPOSABLE)

· sandwiches sealed in plastic bags

· fruits and vegetables in plastic bags

· prepackaged chips, cookies, fruit bars, granola bars, cheeses, and fruit leathers

· prepackaged yogurts, applesauces, and puddings

· crackers, pretzels, chips, and other snack foods sealed in plastic bags

· disposable juice boxes, juice pouches, soda cans, water bottles, and milk cartons

· plastic forks and spoons

· paper napkins

· reusable lunchboxes and disposable paper and plastic bags

A Waste-Free Lunch
(REUSABLE)

· sandwiches and other main dishes, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and treats in a reusable lunch container

· cloth napkins

· stainless-steel forks and spoons

· reusable drink containers

· reusable lunchboxes

*With this type of lunch, lunch food items can be bought in larger quantities. The packaging can be left at home for reuse or recycling. Waste-free lunches are not only a wise environmental choice, but they are less expensive as well.

Now that you can see the difference, I’d like to show you the average costs for a child’s lunch box, compared with a waste-free approach. This example comes from an excellent resource: www.wastefreelunches.org

WHAT DOES IT COST TO PACK A WASTE-FREE LUNCH?

A Disposable Lunch

1 egg salad sandwich	$1.25
1 yogurt	.85
1 granola bar	.45
1 apple	.30
1 package of carrots and dip	.65
3 plastic bags	.12
1 juice pouch	.35
1 plastic spoon	.04
1 paper napkin	.01
TOTAL	$4.02

A Waste-free Lunch

1 egg salad sandwich	$1.25
1 serving of yogurt	.50
1 serving of granola	.35
1 apple	.30
1 serving of carrots and dip	.25
water	0
cloth napkin	0
stainless steel spoon	0
packaging	0
TOTAL	$2.65

Disposable Lunch	Waste-Free Lunch
$4.02 / day	$2.65 / day
$20.10 / week	$13.25 / week
$723.60 / school year	$477.00 / school year

By purchasing items in larger quantities, and using reusable storage containers, you could actually save $246.60 ($723.60 - $477.00) per year. Now, let me show you how.

Every good action starts with a plan. Packing a waste-free lunch requires some prior planning, which will make your life more organized, and help the process go much more smoothly. If you are packing lunches for school age children, create a list like the one below, and have the children circle the items they like, so you can buy them in larger quantities and include them in lunches:

Breads	Spreads & Condiments	Fillings	Fruits (Dried and Fresh)
bagel baguette bread sticks crackers English muffin focaccia lavash bread pita bread pizza bread rice cakes rolls sandwich bread tortillas	almond butter apple butter avocado (mashed) banana (mashed) brie cheese cashew butter cream cheese (low fat) goat cheese honey hummus jam (spreadable fruit) ketchup mayonnaise/mustard peanut butter pesto pizza or tomato sauce pumpkin butter	carrots (shredded) cheese (lite/low-fat) chicken chicken salad egg salad hard boiled egg nitrite-free hot dogs lettuce shrimp salad sliced avocado sliced cucumber smoked salmon sprouts tofu tuna salad	apples apricots Asian pears avocado bananas blueberries cherries cranberries (dried) dates figs mango papaya pears prunes raisins	grapefruit grapes kiwi melon nectarines orange sections peaches pineapple plums raspberries strawberries tomatoes

Vegetables		Treats	Other	Other Grains
asparagus beets bell peppers bok choy broccoli Brussels sprouts cabbage carrots cauliflower celery cucumbers eggplant green beans green salad	lettuce mushrooms seaweed (nori, wakame, hijiki) shelling peas snap peas soy beans (edamame) spinach squash sweet potatoes yams zucchini	apple crisp applesauce baked chips with salsa dried fruit fruit bar fruit leather granola homemade cookies notes from home popcorn pretzels stickers trail mix vanilla yogurt with fruit	baked tofu bean burrito cottage cheese with fruit garlic toast polenta with pizza sauce and cheese	pasta rice couscous oatmeal bulghar

Tips for Reducing Your Workload

If you don't do so already, try packing lunches the night before and keeping them in the refrigerator overnight.
Make your children responsible for adding the ice pack and placing their own lunchbox near the door or in the car.
Teach your older children how to make nutritious, waste-free lunches and then let them make their own lunches.
Older children can also be responsible for washing their reusable lunch containers or rinsing them and putting them in the dishwasher.
Children of all ages can take responsibility for putting recyclables in the recycle bin.

Want to reduce food waste?

Here are some things you can do:

Cut up fruits and vegetables. Children often take 1 or 2 bites out of an uncut apple or banana and throw the rest away. To avoid this, pack cut-up fruits and vegetables in a reusable container. Your child can take a few bites and save the rest for later.
Pack drinks in reusable containers. Children cannot reseal juice boxes, cans, or pouches. Often they drink half (or less) and throw the rest away. To get the most out of your money, buy drinks in larger containers. Send a small amount to school in a reusable container. (Recycle the bottle at home.) Remember, children need plenty of water, so consider making water your beverage of choice.
Before offering your children an afterschool snack, request that they finished their lunch. How many times have you given them a snack and then dumped the contents of their lunch box into the trash?
Ask your child to bring home lunch leftovers. Looking at leftover lunches is a great way to get information about your children's lunch preferences. Find out why certain foods have come back uneaten. Did your child not like it? Was she not hungry enough to eat everything in the lunchbox? Was there a birthday celebration at school that day? Did she share someone else's lunch instead? Maintain a dialogue without criticizing. Consider making a list of foods that your child likes to eat for lunch and update it regularly with input from your child. You may find that she prefers romaine lettuce to red leaf lettuce. By making this simple change, she might start eating salads more regularly. Providing a dip for carrot and celery sticks might make eating them more fun.
Encourage your children to help plan, prepare and pack their own lunches. They're more likely to eat a meal that they've helped prepare. Involvement in meal preparation also teaches them where their food comes from, and it provides them with the confidence and skills they will need to prepare food for themselves later in life. Younger children can cut fruit or make their own trail mix from a selection of healthy items such as raisins, dried apricots, sunflower seeds, whole-grain cereals, and pumpkin seeds.

Get The School Involved:

The EPA has some create resources for organizing a school-wide event for waste-free lunches. They recommend having a waste-free lunch day. You can download posters and order a free kit from: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/education/lunch.htm

Elements of a Waste-Free Lunch:

Just to recap, here is what you should be thinking, when packing a waste-free lunch:

Reuse:

· Durable forks, spoons, and knives

· Cloth napkins

· Refillable drink containers

· Reusable lunch containers

· Plastic baggies (if necessary)

Recycle:

· Aluminum cans

· Glass bottles

· Paper bags

· Food scraps (composting is a great way to do this, and it’s great for the garden)

I hope you have found this guide useful. Please pass this on to anyone you think could use it. Every person who does this helps to reduce the greater problem of pollution and waste, which this American society has become so used to. Get the word out, do your part, and together, we will make a difference!

Email Questions/Comments: Nick@IgniteIndiana.org