Today we have our first guest post at Zero Waste Mommy.  Anna Ruby and her husband create videos and podcasts for local businesses and non-profits in the lovely metropolis of Portland, OR.  Which is why I’m guessing they encountered Zero Waste-preschool administrators.  Yay progress!  Check out their work here:  moreleystudios.com  

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When my daughter started preschool four years ago, the parents were encouraged to pack “no waste” lunches, or lunches that do not generate any non-compostable garbage.  It took me a while to wrap my head around the idea, as I was a card-carrying member of our single-serving society.  A child’s school lunch can create 67 pounds of trash each year, according to the EPA.¹  That’s 4.6 billion pounds of lunch waste each year!

We can do better.

And, I promise, it is really quite simple to do:

• Put food & drinks in reusable containers
• Include reusable utensils and a cloth napkin
• Pack it all in a reusable bag or box

What do you pack in a reusable lunch box?  Whatever you want!  Keep it simple with a sandwich or send warm leftovers in a food jar (this one by Hydro Flask is THE.  BEST. at keeping food warm).

You will save money when you stop buying individually-packaged food such as cracker packs and yogurt cups.  WasteFreeLunches.org estimates you can save $250 per year, per person just by switching to waste-free lunches.  Simply buy the big box of crackers and put a few in a small container for lunch.  Or buy the big carton of yogurt and scoop some into a reusable container.

There are also some super-cute one-piece lunch containers on the market such as the Goodbyn Bynto and the cute-as-a-puzzle Laptop Lunches if you are worried about losing pieces.

If you don’t want to spend a bunch of money on cute containers, you can always reuse empty food containers such as small jars or plastic containers.  I have an itty-bitty jar that once held jam but I’ve re-purposed it for fun stuff like baby pickles or chocolate chips.  If you’re not worried about your child dropping glass, small canning jars are fantastic reusable lunch containers:  try freezing a smoothie in one the night before; it defrosts just in time for lunch!

Just think:  your kids are getting lessons on academics at school, but you’re also throwing in a daily lesson on how to be a good steward of the earth.

Here are two great resources for launching a No-Waste Lunch program at your child’s school:

http://www.reuseit.com/

http://www.wastefreelunches.org/

¹ http://www.epa.gov/waste/education/pdfs/lunch.pdf