If you're packing your child's lunch, you know how much packaging goes into their noontime meal each day. You also know that that amount of packaging each day, five days a week, adds up to a lot of trash!
If you've been concerned about your environmental impact, you should know that there are some eco-friendly solutions for packing your child's lunch.
Sustainable lunch bags and baggies are a good way to lessen the trash footprint made by your child's lunch. There are many different manufacturers who are creating eco-friendly lunch containers that can be used over and over again.
Instead of instantly running out and buying a whole bunch of new lunch containers, you can use these tips to use what you already have or re-use old items in new ways.
Tip 1: Reuse standard lunch packing materials
One of the easiest ways to save on lunch materials is to simply re-use the materials that you already use to pack your child's lunch. This just requires the cooperation of your child. Most times, plastic bags can be washed out and re-used, so have your child bring them back after using them.
You can also apply the same thinking to your child's lunch box. Use a hand me down lunch box and have your child decorate it with stickers and puff paint. This is a great way to make something old look new again, and your child will have a totally unique lunch box.
Tip 2: Use small containers instead of bags
If you're not comfortable washing disposable plastic bags, or your child it too young to remember to bring them back to you, you should pack all of the items in small reusable containers. Look for small containers at the second hand store or start saving them from the items you normally by. These containers are small enough so that they can fit into your child's lunch box, but are cheap enough that it won't be a problem if your child forgets to bring them back.
Tip 3: Use a thermos
Thermoses keep cold drinks cold and warm drinks warm, and they are much more eco-friendly than juice boxes and plastic milk bottles. You can purchase your thermos from a manufacturer that uses previously recycled materials or find one second hand.
Tip 4: Give your child cloth napkins
Paper towels and paper napkins can be a real waste of money, not to mention the addition to our landfills. Create your own cloth napkins out of small pieces of cotton fabric or purchase them from an ecofriendly online shop. These are well worth their cost because they can be used over and over again.
If you do find that you need to buy new packaging for your child's lunch, try to purchase from manufacturers who use sustainable practices. You can find lunch boxes, thermoses, small containers and cloth napkins from eco-friendly materials to make your child's lunch packaging sustainable.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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