Zero Waste Lunch - Good for the Earth and Your Pocketbook

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Food for Thought - Adding up to a Zero Waste Lunch

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Facts -

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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.
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If you want to give your kids a healthy lunch, brown-bagging it is the way to go...but skip the brown bag, along with those "snack size" and single-serving containers. According to WasteFreeLunches.org, all those juice boxes and cracker packages mean an average of 67 pounds of waste generated by one child each school year, and hundreds of dollars wasted on "convenience" foods.

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Regardless of whether it's basic peanut butter and jelly or something more elaborate on the menu, the first two ingredients of a low-waste lunch are a reusable lunch container and a refillable bottle. There are lots of fun and stylish beverage containers available these days.

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I found a perfect lunch bag at a great low price by Arctic Zone. It also comes with a plastic food container that is stored in the bottom zip-around compartment, perfect for sandwiches. It's large enough to carry a 12 oz beverage container made of stainless steel by Thermos, which has a spring loaded straw feature for easier access, and no spills.

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I have three grade school aged kids, but this idea can also work for adults as well.

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Example of possible savings -
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A Disposable Lunch

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1 egg salad sandwich $1.25
1 yogurt .85
1 granola bar .45
1 apple .30
1 package of carrots and dip .65
3 plastic bags .12
1 juice pouch .35
1 plastic spoon .04
1 paper napkin .01

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TOTAL $4.02 _

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A Waste-free Lunch

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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

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TOTAL $2.65

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Disposable Lunch $2.02/day -- $20.10/week -- $723.60/ school year_
Waste-Free Lunch $2.65 /day -- $13.25 /week -- $477.00/school year

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723.60 - 477.00 = $246.60 savings per school year -- per person!!

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