One more week and it's back to school ! I've been thinking a lot lately about how much wasted packaging materials are used in school lunches ... when you add up all those individually packaged snacks, paper napkins, tetra packs of juice and saran wrapped items, it has been estimated that the average child , packing a lunch every day, generates about 65-70 pounds of waste every year !That works out to about 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school every year ! So we've decided that we are going to reduce our waste, thus also our carbon emmissions and just go green lunches this year. So dig out the ol tupperware , cloth lunch bag & thermos, people...because other than a few extra things to wash and making sure it gets back home again, it's really a no brainer and can be applied to work lunches too, not just for the kiddies . After all, what did we do before saran wrap ?Another bonus.... financial savings !! Read on to see how much money you can save ! ( source: http://www.wastefreelunches.org/ )THE FACTS :
WHAT DOES A WASTE-FREE LUNCH LOOK LIKE?
A Typical Lunch(DISPOSABLE)
sandwiches sealed in plastic bags
fruits and vegetables in plastic bags
prepackaged chips, cookies, fruit bars, granola bars, cheeses, and fruit leathers
prepackaged yogurts, applesauces, and puddings
crackers, pretzels, chips, and other snack foods sealed in plastic bags
disposable juice boxes, juice pouchs, soda cans, water bottles, and milk cartons
plastic forks and spoons
paper napkins
reusable lunchboxes and disposable paper and plastic bags
A Waste-Free Lunch(REUSABLE)
sandwiches and other main dishes, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and treats in a reusable lunch container
cloth napkins
stainless-steel forks and spoons
reusable drink containers
reusable lunchboxes
*With this type of lunch, lunch food items can be bought in larger quantities. The packaging can be left at home for reuse or recycling. Waste-free lunches are not only a wise environmental choice, but they are less expensive as well.
WHAT DOES IT COST TO PACK A WASTE-FREE LUNCH?
A Disposable Lunch
1 egg salad sandwich $1.25
1 yogurt .85
1 granola bar .35
1 apple .30
1 package of carrots and dip .65
3 plastic bags .12
1 juice pouch .45
1 plastic spoon .04
1 paper napkin .01
TOTAL $4.02
A Waste-free Lunch
1 egg salad sandwich $1.25
1 serving of yogurt .50
1 serving of granola .35
1 apple .30
1 serving of carrots and dip .25
water 0
cloth napkin 0
stainless steel spoon 0
packaging 0
TOTAL
$2.65
Disposable Lunch
Waste-Free Lunch
$4.02 / day
$2.65 / day
$20.10 / week
$13.25 / week
$723.60 / school year
$477.00 / school year
723.60 - 477.00 = $246.60 savings per school year per person
