Local environmentalist shares back-to-school lunch tips to prevent waste

HIAWASSEE, Ga. – Liza Strub, a concerned Towns County citizen on a mission to combat area litter, is encouraging parents to take part in protecting the environment by reducing the waste created by packed school lunches. “As the school year approaches, it’s time to think about one thing most parents dread: packing school lunches every day,” Strub said. “While there are so many companies out there that process and package bite-size portions for your student, those individual wrapped lunches and snacks also contribute a lot of trash. Luckily, there are some great resources out there for families to find ways to reduce the amount of individual wrapped lunch items, reuse containers, and ultimately reduce your trash footprint.”

Strub suggested purchasing a reuseable bag and plastic BPA-free containers to transport children’s lunches, as well as buying snacks in bulk to repackage in smaller portions inside of washable containers. “A favorite is an all-in-one container that holds a sandwich in its own enclosed section, and two separated, smaller compartments for fruit, veggies or crackers.

“Last but not least, ditch the one time use plastic water bottle or juice box. There are so many different brands of water bottles out there for your student…From experience, avoid the water bottles with plastic straws. After six months of use, the straws get chewed beyond sippage or start to mold-mildew inside.”

Strub recommended the following products:

LLBean lunch boxes for kids

Glad BPA-free containers

Klean Kanteen

Eartheasy.com provides the following additional tips to reduce school lunch waste:

• Individual yogurt or applesauce containers: Think of the waste from all those one-serving plastic yogurt containers. Yogurt and fruit or smoothies can go in a reusable container (with reusable spoon of course). Bonus: Packing your own smoothies and similar foods means you can skip the added sugar in a lot of these products.
• Foil-wrapped granola bars: Make your own healthy granola bars and pack them right in the lunch box. Most store-bought ones have far more sugar than is good for kids, anyhow.
• Paper napkins: Send a small cloth napkin from home and have your child put it in the empty lunch box after eating. Easy.
• Plastic utensils: Send reusable utensils when they’re needed. They can be washed later at home.
• Plastic baggies: If you pack everything into the lunch box, you may not need these, but some parents like having washable, reusable snack bags on hand.

 

 

Related Archives