Defy the disposable culture

Here's a nice program that we should encourage in all of our schools:

www.wastefreelunches.org.

According to that site, "It has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school."

The idea is to send food in reusable plastic containers, send stainless steel utensils that need to be returned home, don't used pre-packaged food bars, yogurt, drinks, and so on.

This is a tough one to implement every day. We've tried it in our house many times over the years with our kids, and the press of life has often made us resort to throw-away sandwich bags (usually waxed paper), boxed milk and juice, and even plastic utensils once in a while. Juice boxes are brought home for recycling, but far as this program is concerned, we have an "adherence" rate of maybe 70 percent.

Two points: First, reducing waste doesn't have to be all or nothing. Maybe we can't save 67 pounds comfortably, but saving 47 pounds per kid isn't so bad. Second, conservation almost always beats technological innovation. You can have the smartest, most efficient light bulb in the world, but it can't do better than being off.

Let us know some of your favorite conservation and recycling tips.

~ Doug Logan, New Energy Watch

Comments

[Ellen Esselstrom]

I work in the lunchroom at the elementary school once in a while, and I'm blown away by the staggering amount of waste and garbage. Between the whole sandwiches and the fruit with one bite taken out of it getting tossed, and the bags/cans/napkins/sporks etc. getting thrown out, it's something every parent should witness. The kids come home with an empty lunchbox and mom thinks the meal's been eaten. But WE KNOW BETTER! My dad would take a paper bag lunch to work every day, and he would re-use that bag and the waxed paper that wrapped his sandwich for five days before throwing it out. We're 5% of the world population and we use 25% of the world's resources.

[Dan Dickison]

One of the biggest problems with waste in school lunch rooms--and with much of the food created for children--is packaging. It's too commonly accepted that we purchase and dispense food items in individually wrapped servings. Think about a fruit roll-up. These treats come in a cardboard box and each is wrapped in a thin foil container, inside of which there's a thin plastic sheet to keep the roll-up from sticking to itself. The end result is that we have to deal with twice the packaging. If the corporations who devise these packaging schemes were more concerned about waste, they might rethink their approach. What can individuals do? We can avoid those products that aren't sensibly packaged. It's a small step, but it's a start.

[JPV]

Part of the problem starts at the supermarket where processed goods and slick packaging jump out at consumers.

Buying fresh veggies and meats reduces supermarket packaging by at least 80%, and the venerable can recycles well.

I bought a bunch of gladware styled containers from Target. The product is maybe 1/2 the thickness of tupperware, but holds up well. Might have been a few dollars for several pieces.

The nice thing is, when the containers get skunked -- like when microwaving tomato sauce -- you can then toss them into the recyle bin.

Problem with schools too, I think, is that they don't have aggressive lunchroom recycling programs.

[B.R. Reed]

Good action-item list at stopglobalwarming.org.

Very practical stuff that everyone can do. It's amazing how LITTLE we would have to do if a lot of people joined in. Seems like its just a few people doing all the work.