Litterless Lunches

Now that we are well into the school year, it’s a good time to think about the daily choices we make and the impact these choice have on our environment. It’s estimated that the average North American will produce 600 times their own weight in garbage over their lifetime. Yet by rethinking some of our daily practices such as how we pack our lunches, we can reduce that number and prevent a great deal of garbage from ending up in our landfill.  

A litterless or waste-free lunch means that there is no packaging to throw away when you’re done.  All that’s left are biodegradable extras such as apple cores and banana peels which can be composted.  This means using reusable food and drink containers instead of disposable plastic packaging, washable cutlery instead disposable utensils, and eating homemade instead of prepackaged foods.

The most obvious reason for a litterless lunch is the massive amounts of garbage that packaged lunches create. It is estimated that a typical Canadian student produces approximately 67 pounds of waste per school year. When that number is multiplied by 200 students in a school, that’s 13.4 tons which should be reduced significantly if not eliminated altogether. Aside from reducing large amounts of garbage, switching to a litterless lunch has other benefits.

One significant benefit of switching to a litterless lunch is that it is much cheaper in the long run.  A 2015 study by ecolunch.com estimates that a family of four could save up to $450 a school year by eliminating prepacked, single use, disposable lunch products.  The initial costs of purchasing quality reusable containers would be offset within the first few weeks.

Another benefit of litterless lunches is that they lead to healthier food choices.  Many prepackaged foods are high in salt, sugar and trans fats in order to give them a longer shelf life. Health experts agree that current rates of sugar consumption are dangerous yet many juice boxes contain more sugar than pop and some packaged granola bars actually contain more sugar than a chocolate bar.  Plastic packaging also contains harmful chemicals such as BPA which can cause a variety of negative health effects.  

Here are a few suggestions on how to get started with a litterless lunch:

1. Invest in quality dishwasher safe re-usuable containers.

2. Pack lunches in the evening to eliminate the need to pack a lunch quickly in the morning.

3. Put leftovers from dinner directly into your reusable lunch container.s

4. Try baking your own granola bars and cookies which allows you to control the sugar content.

5. When shopping try not to purchase items in single use packaging to put into your lunch.

While packing a litterless lunch may require a bit more effort, the benefits greatly outweigh the inconvenience.  Thinking about our food choices teaches us and our children to be more conscious about what we put into our bodies and the waste we create.  Visit our facebook page for more litterless lunch ideas and recipes.