ECOSiZE Me

Kids Konserve Choose to Reuse

Kidskonserve.com had me at the "stainless steel mini food containers". They are perfectly green.

Thanks to my friend Marla's suggestion, I checked out their website and ordered both the mini food containers and the orange food kozies. Both items are now regular options for packing our waste-free lunches and they have been added to our favorite green things. Kidskonserve is a site you must check out.

The best part of the whole experience is that I was fortunate to have an inspiring conversation with Lynne Julian, one of the parnters of Kids Konserve. We talked about environmental awareness, education and responsibility. Lynne and Chance are using their experience, education and passion to make a positive impact on our environment and they are enabling kids and parents to do the same.

My overall rating: 3 out of 3 planets.

Bottled Water Is So Yesterday

Whether it's a result of economic or environmental pressures, the highly popular bottled water is slowly, but surely on a downturn. And that simply is music to my ears for these reasons...

"According to Food & Water Watch, more than 17 million barrels of oil -- enough to fuel 1 million cars for a year-- are needed to produce the plastic water bottles sold in the United States annually. And about 86 percent of the empty bottles get thrown into the trash rather than recycled." This is an excerpt from a Washington Post article from August.

You can read more reliable but staggering statistics here and here. Be sure to read about the energy footprint of bottled water as well.

The point of this post is to encourage, persuade and ask you to CHOOSE to REUSE and TURN ON THE TAP. In other words, fill reusable water bottles with tap water and say NO to BOTTLED WATER.

As a family, we have made this choice and are happier, healthier and greener because of it. We hope you will choose to do the same. It is one little step in the green direction.

Moving beyond reusable bags

You have the reusable shopping bag gig down pretty well by now (hopefully). Are you ready to try something new on for size? Do you dine out regularly? Do you usually have leftovers? How about bringing your own container to carry home the leftovers? Say no to the polysyrene containers!

Polystyrene is a petroleum-based plastic, made from NON-renewable resources. The production of polystyrene creates a tremendous amount of hazardous waste and environmental pollution. It is not readily recyclable and shows up in our environment as litter.

There are many health concerns and risks associated with the production of polystyrene and the contact that it has with the food we consume.

Keep a reusable food container in your car so you can "bring your own" leftover container and say no to the polysytrene often offered to you by restaurants.  

Protect the Planet One Lunch at a Time

Let it be a multi-subject lesson that crosses generations...learn how to protect the planet, one lunch at a time. Try this experiment...it can be done in 30 minutes or less. More-than-likely, you will find all you need in your kitchen and pantry. Put together 2 lunches for yourself and/or your child. Make one lunch "disposable" and the other lunch "waste-free".

Include in the "disposable" lunch things that will be thrown away because they can not be reused or recycled and/or items that are individually packaged like single-serving convenience products. You could include bottled water, single-serving beverages, single-serving snacks, microwaveable meals, "Lunchables", etc. Single-serving items are designed for convenience and more recently for "portion control" with things like 100-calorie snack packs. In a disposable lunch, you would contain or wrap your food in plastic wrap, aluminum foil and plastic baggies and use plastic or paper disposable lunch bags. Your utensils would be disposable as well as would your napkin.

Now, put together a waste-free lunch. It would include packaging that can be reused over again. You would create your own snack pack from larger, bulk packaging. You would put beverages in a reusable bottle. Food can be contained in a variety of reusable containers...fabric, plastic, insulated, etc. Utensils and napkins would be reusable as well. Packing fresh fruit and vegetables only creates organic waste that can decompose and they are healthier alternatives (cheaper too). Of course, it would be assembled in a reusable lunch box.

Significant things you may have noticed about the disposable lunch:

• It is more expensive.
• It creates a lot of garbage.
• It typically is not as healthy or nutritious

Significant things you may have noticed about the waste-free lunch:

• It is less expensive.
• It creates significantly less garbage.

• It is typically more healthy and nutritious.

The biggest obstacle to packing a waste-free lunch? Getting over our dependency on single-serving, individually-wrapped, disposable and convenience packaging.

We've talked about waste-free lunches on this blog before. But like the saying goes...you have to try it to know if you like it. In this case, you have to pack it to know that it can make a difference. Packing both disposable and waste-free lunches simultaneously is an experiment worth conducting, both economically and environmentally.

Missed Opportunity

I saw a Wal-Mart commercial on television this past weekend. It was an advertisement of how you could save money by shopping at their store and then packing your lunch instead of eating out on a daily basis.

Displayed in the commercial were a variety of items that they would have you use to pack a lunch. What was truly significant about the footage was that it contained a paper lunch bag (instead of a reusable lunch container) as well as a bottle of water (instead of a reusable drinking container). While I applaud the idea of packing your lunch instead of eating out, Wal-Mart misses the boat, economically and environmentally. Purchasing individual (disposable) bottled water and (disposable) paper lunch bags are not ways in which to be economical. Nor are they ways in which to be green.

What a missed environmental opportunity! Wal-Mart’s PR and advertising gurus fail to gain the respect of “green” shoppers. Their commercial silently and subtly speaks volumes about the company’s true commitment, or lack thereof, to our environment.

 

The Wal-Mart commercial is an indicator that environmental stewardship is not truly at the forefront of our society. That convenience and disposability take precedence over waste reduction and sustainability. This is truly an unfortunate circumstance. One that needs to be reversed.

 

 

 

The Beginning of a Greener Year

September marks the beginning of our new blog feature, 12 Months to a Greener Year. The first focus is (waste free) lunch. We’ll look all aspects of packing a waste-free lunch, including lunches for both work and school. We’ll talk about healthy alternatives and how they double as greener choices. We’ll examine the amount of waste that is generated solely from lunch scraps. There’s a great selection of waste-free lunch containers available so naturally we’ll share with you some of our favorites. And because everyone noshes at restaurants from time to time, we’ll discuss how to green-up those choices as well.

Follow us this month as begin our 12-month journey to a greener year.

 

Ecosize Me welcomes your comments and suggestions. Please share with us and our readers how you make your lunch waste-free.

12 Months to a Greener Year

Going green can sometimes feel like an overwhelming task, particularly if you are just getting started. So, we are starting simple and changing one area of our lives at a time.

 

Psychologists estimate that it takes the average person about 30 repetitions of an action before it becomes a habit. Taking a few green steps at a time can lead to a lifetime of environmental change.

 

Join us as we develop (new) eco-friendly habits as we strive to live greener the whole year through.

 

To follow along or join in our 12 Months to a Greener Year, either subscribe to our feed or sign up for our e-newsletter by sending your email address to tapurrenhage@aol.com .

 

We'll begin with the month of September when the focus will be: waste-free lunch--back-to-school and work too.