Pack a Waste-Free Lunch

 

A waste-free lunch means that you have no packaging to throw away when you're done - nothing other than apple cores, banana and orange peels, peach or cherry pits. The best way to reduce garbage is to not create it. (source: Environmental Forum of Marin)

 

Five Simple Ways to Pack a Waste-Free Lunch

 

YES	NO
REUSABLE carrier (cloth bag, lunchbox)	NO throw-away bags
REUSABLE containers	NO plastic wrap, foil or styrofoam
THERMOS for drinks	NO single-use cartons or cans
CLOTH NAPKIN to wash and re-use	NO paper napkins
SILVERWARE to wash and re-use	NO plastic forks and spoons

 

Lunch Waste Facts

 

ALUMINUM FOIL	More than 20 million Hershey's kisses are wrapped with 133 square miles of foil every day
ALUMINUM AND TIN CANS	In the time it takes you to read this sentence, more than 50,000 12-oz. aluminum cans were made
BANANA AND ORANGE PEELS	Food debris in a landfill decompose only 25% in the first 15 years (try composting or vermiculture!)
JUICE BOXES	Most inorganic trash retains its weight, volume, and form for at least four decades
PAPER BAGS AND NAPKINS	It is estimated that 17 trees are cut down for every ton of non-recycled paper
PLASTIC BOTTLES, FORKS, WRAP	U.S. citizens discard 2-1/2 million plastic bottles EVERY HOUR
STYROFOAM	U.S. citizens throw away 25 billion styrofoam cups EVERY YEAR