How many lunch boxes do you pack in a week? Several for your children? Maybe a couple for you? I looked at my own children’s plastic footprint and it was astonishing. My high school children use to pack the above lunch every day. Chips, Plastic water bottle, and sandwich in a plastic bag. According to waste-freelunches.org
“Much of the trash we generate comes from the packaging on the food we buy, and lunch foods are no exception. In fact, 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.”
So how do we reduce our lunchroom waste? Leave it two moms to come up with a solution. Tammy Pelstring and Amy Hemmert, founders of Laptop Lunches, have created the Laptop Lunch Bento Box Set with multiple containers to make lunch waste free.
Best yet, the Bento boxes are lead free. Unfortunately, many lunch boxes contain lead in them. Did I mention that the boxes were recyclable and dishwasher safe?
What in the Box?
Each Laptop Lunch Bento Box Set comes with the following:
“A hard outer shell containing 5 food containers, a set of utensils, and The Laptop Lunch User’s Guide
- Removable inner containers can accommodate a variety of food sizes
- Tray-like feel makes lunch fun.
- Sealable lid prevents wet foods from leaking onto other foods.
- Dip container for sauces, salad dressings, and dips makes eating vegetables fun.
- Single unit eliminates the mess of jumbled containers.
- Stainless steel fork and spoon with stylish plastic handles are great for leftovers.
- Convenient size fits in backpacks and most lunchboxes.
- Durable plastic containers (not lids) are microwave safe.
- Containers and lids are dishwasher safe–top rack only”
The Laptop Lunch System comes with a Lunch Bento Box Set along with an insulated carrying case and reusable water bottle. Team this lunch bag up with a nontoxic ice bag and you have a waste free lunch box that Al Gore would be proud of! This lunch box is ideal for school lunches.
How about the Large Appetite Crowd?
What do people with larger appetites such as teenagers use? I actually asked this question a year ago because I looked at the bento box and thought I would have to buy two for my teenager. As many of you may have experienced, they can have a bottomless pit when it comes to eating.
Amy suggested the Lunch Date that includes Laptop Lunch with a hemp bag in two different color choices (navy blue or designer color) to insert your lunch box in. In addition, the set contains a lunch jar, stainless steel drink container, bento sleeve to insert your nontoxic ice pack in, and guide to change the way you look at lunches.
Both lunch systems are good for college students and working people as well.
How about adding a Nutritional Lunch to the Box?
So, now we have the perfect solution for lunchroom waste, what about help with making the lunches more nutritious? Laptop Lunches’ website is full of wonderful lunch menus and helpful tips to make any lunch more nutritious along with a free newsletter with inspirational lunch ideas from other moms. Always remember to pack lunches with organic fruits and vegetables.
However, if you cannot afford to buy all of your fruit and vegetable as organic or it is not readily available. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has compiled a Shoppers’ Guide to help you as to which conventional vegetables and fruits are acceptable when organic is not an option. For example, there are some fruits that are low in pesticides such as bananas, pineapples, mangoes and kiwis.
A good nutritious meal will help you through those seemingly long hours of afternoon work or school. As you head home with your Laptop Lunch box or bag, you will know that your lunch was not wasted.
You want one. I know.
Got you hooked? I thought I did. Check out the Green Talk Store for the Bento Box and accessories and the Lunch Date.
Join the Conversation:
- Do you own a Laptop Lunch box? If so, how do you like it?
- Do you pack waste free lunches and if so, what do you use?
- How have you gotten your teens to pack a waste free lunch?
- What is your favorite nutritional lunch? Give us the yummy details.
Dawn says
That is a great picture and conveys the issue quite well. Personally I use a plastic containers, reuse a glass bottle for my milk and toss it all in my backpack.
Green Talk says
Welcome Dawn! I accidently deleted your comment so disregard the “2 comments” after your name. Readers, Dawn writes a great blog about being frugal. (www.frugalforlife.com) Everyone could learn some ideas from Dawn’s blog!
I love your comment because it is so simplistic. No need to buy anything-just use what you have. If you have any suggestions for teenagers, I would love to hear them. Everyone at my children’s high school carries a brown bag with everything disposable. They have limited time to eat, backpacks full of books, and they don’t want to be different. All that trash is ending up in our landfills. As much as I love the backpack idea of Laptop Lunch Date, I am not sure if teenagers in high school will use it–especially boys. Any thoughts?
Dawn says
Ok, Lemme think like a teenage boy….
A lunch sack option might be a fabric one, but made out of suede or denim. If their backpacks are filled up to much, perhaps a more ‘adult’ lunch box like the long rounded, metal ones. I would think that with a reusable lunch box then they could through the plastic containers back in.
As for the peer pressure, all I can suggest is to try it out for a week and if they can go a week without getting ‘beat up’ about it, then it stays.
Las Vegas Homes Expert says
Hmm….you want a more adult version…put a place to hold a cell phone and Ipod, etc. That should chic it up a bit!
Annyee fashion says
Your tips proved to be really useful. Hope you will come up with more interesting articles like this.
rObrak says
Thank you for sharing your ideas with us. There is a more suitable packed lunch container for teenagers and adults that are very portable indeed. If you’re looking for this type of container just check out Happy Tiffin The site offers a variety of cool stylish steel tiffin carriers. I’m sure they’ll love it and also you too. Because it is made of high quality stainless steel and 100 % BPA free. Moreover, it is integrated with lockable design that prevent your food to leak out. For more detail please visit the site. 😉
Donald @ Las Vegas foreclosures says
I’m pretty sure you can recycle plastic now. And I wish people were as concerned about being ‘green’ as they are about helping the homeless people out who are starving and digging in trash cans.