A typical bagged school lunch contains a sandwich (in a plastic baggie or wrapped in plastic wrap), and usually, two or more store bought, individual serving, pre-packaged items like a yogurt, a bag of apple slices and a package of crackers or cookies. Also included is a juice box (with a plastic wrapped straw) or a bottle of water, a spoon that is thrown away, and a paper napkin. At the end of the lunch, nothing is left for the student to take home- everything goes into the trash, EVERY DAY! Multiply this by the number of students who bring their lunch to school and that is A LOT of garbage… garbage that can be eliminated and replaced with American-made products. Follow these four steps for an Eco-friendly lunch that leaves less waste
Pack an Eco-friendly lunch with these Four Tips
Don't miss our made in USA lunch gear source list that includes American made lunch bags, and all the containers, reusable bottles, and utensil you'll need for an Eco friendly school lunch!
1. Replace those paper bags that are tossed after each use with an Eco-friendly, reusable lunch bag. It is getting harder every year to find lunch bags made in the USA, but there are some out there! Check our list here.
2. Use reusable lunch containers or bags instead of plastic baggies, plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Also, you can save money AND make less trash by purchasing the regular package size of snack items instead of individual pre-packaged snack sizes.
3. Instead of purchasing water or juice boxes (by the case) that will just get thrown away, pack that drink in a reusable bottle. The use of just one re-useable bottle can save so much waste!
4. Stop purchasing paper napkins and disposable utensils and invest in cloth napkins and reusable forks/spoons. You could also pick up silverware cheap at yard sales or use old odd and end pieces. Etsy offers a great selection of handmade cloth napkins in patterns that kids will love. Support small American business!
For more Eco-friendly living tips, don't miss the following USA Love List articles
- Six Tips for Planning an Eco-Friendly Wedding
- Five Eco-Friendly Spring Cleaning Tips
- Eco-Friendly BBQ Ideas: Green Your Summer Cookout With American Made Products
- 5 Ways to Save Water at Home With American Made Products
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Tips to Reduce Waste With American Made Products
- A Radical Made in USA Idea: Don't Buy Stuff!
Thanks for those tips. We try as much to use eco-friendly packing for lunches
Great tips! I do all of those, and have been a big fan of reusable containers for a long time. Bamboo or other types of wood material is great for reusable yet very lightweight utensils.
It’s great you talked about the different reusable options that are available when you want to switch from one-use disposable bags to recyclable, reusable containers. The reason for this is that you would be helping out the environment with these reusable containers, and not only that you would be able to keep using the same container for different days if need be. If I had the chance to switch over to recyclable containers then I would definitely consider doing that so that I can help reduce the amount of garbage I throw out whenever I would use disposable containers.
I do like to read different Eco-friendly living tips. I try to be eco-friendly whenever I can!
Wonderful tips!
I’m big on using washable plastic and glass containers. Great tips!
Hey Tracey.. Very nice tips for school lunch box ideas. Also, I have seen Martha is looking for insulated lunch bags, I would refer you to check Mitz Accessories for more options.
I see some nice options here. My nephews would love that camo print! And I’m fascinated by bento boxes. I want every one I see, lol.
How about Tervis? Was thinking about getting a Tervis tumbler for my son.
Thanks for the Fantastic Review on Four Steps to an Eco Friendly School Lunch + American Made School Lunch Gear Source List! These are some really terrific suggestions! We use re-usable containers for the kid’s school lunches. We are not big into baggies or water bottles to be thrown in the trash! I really love some of these items and will have to definitely check them out! Thanks so much for sharing your fantastic review, all the great pictures, and your personal and professional opinions on Four Steps to an Eco Friendly School Lunch + American Made School Lunch Gear Source List with all of us! I truly do appreciate it! Thanks again! Michele 🙂
Looks like the insulated Hero Bag is no longer available. Anybody found any other resources for insulated bags?
Hi Martha, I have been working on updating this article and have added Planet Wise insulated lunch bags. I am still on the hunt for more options!
~Tracey
Great tips, thank you! I am trying to find thermos-style containers made in the USA that can keep soup hot for my toddler. Have you found any such things?
Thanks commenting Steph! I have not seen anything yet- I’ve been looking!
What great tips. We do buy extra silverware at the thirft stores here and I like to use reusable products that can be washed.
I bring my lunch to work most days. I much prefer metal silverware. I have a small set of secondhand stuff that I use for this purpose.
Hi! I just bought the Laptop Lunches Bento Box and you are right…it does not fit in any of the lunch bags I already have. Has anyone found an insulated lunch bag that is made in the USA and that fits the box & a 9oz LifeFactory bottle. Every bag that I have found is made in China.
Hi Sunshine! Thanks for the comment! I just updated this post and I did find an insulated lunch bag made by Hero bags. The size says 12″x 10″ by 4″ so it MIGHT fit the Bento Box (which has a size of 9″x7″x2.5″)
I love being able to wash and reuse prodcuts. Thank you for promoating and passing the word on about made in the USA.
I use cloth napkins and re-usable containers for my lunches. I also carry my lunch in an insulated lunch bag.
I love all the great tips.
We use all eco-friendly, reusable containers in our reusable lunch bags. I also bought a bunch of cheap silverware at the Dollar Store just for lunches!
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