The Waste-Free Kid's Lunch: Not Impossible!

As a mom, I'm pretty eco-responsible. I buy organic. I carpool. I compost. And I'd be delighted to never see another Ziploc bag in my life, except ... how else am I supposed to pack my kids' lunches?

It's a space problem: Reusable containers are so rigid, so maddeningly unbendy, that you just can't cram more than one or two into a lunchbox. So I wind up swallowing my petroleum-and-landfill guilt every morning as I toss some baby carrots or pretzel sticks -- gulp -- into a plastic baggie and watch it slither, slide and settle, cooperatively, between the bulkier contents of the lunchbox.

But here's another space problem: An average kid using disposable lunch wrappers generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. Where on earth will it all go?

Moms Tammy Pelstring and Amy Hemmert came up with a better way. They invented the Laptop Lunch Box, a compact container that brilliantly holds five smaller containers of various sizes and colors. Modeled after Japanese Bento boxes, the snap-shut lunch box is made of lead-free, microwave-safe plastic and comes with stainless steel utensils. The company says it uses fair-labor practices and donates a portion of proceeds to schools and environmental groups. (It's $33.95 and comes with a carrying sleeve.)

Another solution: Wrap sandwiches, burritos or veggie sticks in the Wrap-N-Mat, a 13"-by-13" folding mat made of food-safe vinyl that doubles as a placemat when opened. The mats can be used hundreds of times and hand-washed or run through a washing machine. (It's $6.95 and you can choose from four colors.)

If you still need to wrap food in disposable stuff, consider Natural Value's unbleached, waxed paper bags. Non-toxic and compostable, die-hard users say you can rinse and reuse a few times before they fall apart. (They're $2.95 for 60.)

Comments

[NYCBear]

A zip-lock bag IS a reusable container - if you reuse it. Bags used for things like cookies or carrots just need a quick inside-out rinse and dry now and then. Use disposable wax paper for things that are goopy or bacteria-prone.

Wax paper just doesn't keep humidity out of cookies and other crisp things. Mmmmm, plastic.

[TexasDem0]

When I was a kid, we wrapped our sandwiches in wax paper. It’s biodegradable and inexpensive, and it works.

[Checquoline]

We did also and they actually had a wax paper sandwich bag. If they still do, the carrot snacks and cookies can go in there. The cookies will stay fresh until the child's lunch.