| Did you know that the average school-age child in | | | | sacks, water bottles and containers. Instead buy a |
| Canada and the United States produces over 66lbs | | | | large tub of yogurt, juice or bulk granola bars and |
| of garbage at lunch time each year? In a school that | | | | snacks and put portions into lunch/snack size reusable |
| has 400 students, that's over 26,000 lbs of garbage | | | | containers. It is a bit more time consuming (and you'll |
| in one school year. Translate that to all the schools in | | | | probably lose the odd container or two), but the |
| a school district, in a province or state, and then | | | | effort is worth it. Even if the single-serving containers |
| country-wide: it's an appalling amount of waste going | | | | are recyclable, most still end up in the landfill, or it |
| straight into our landfills. | | | | takes significant energy consumption to actually |
| We've got 5 easy tips to have a litterless lunch: | | | | recycle them. Single serving containers may be |
| | | | convenient, but they cost significantly more and |
| 1. Model the behaviour you wish to see in your kids. | | | | often end up in the landfill. |
| If you are constantly tossing a Starbucks cup into | | | | 4. It's difficult to completely eliminate snack |
| the garbage, your kids notice, and it's unlikely they'll | | | | packaging, but if necessary, keep the packaging at |
| make the commitment to reduce their waste. Walk | | | | home, where you can control how it is disposed of |
| the talk and bring a reusable travel mug when you've | | | | and send the food to school in a reusable container. |
| got the craving for your next cappuccino. Look at | | | | Yes, some wraps do go straight into the garbage, |
| your own lunch and snack practices to see where | | | | but there are some innovative recycling companies |
| you can reduce the garbage. | | | | out there, which handle all the different plastics, foil |
| 2. Get the whole gang involved. Young children like | | | | wraps and more. |
| helping in the kitchen, so encourage them to help | | | | 5. Many cities have implemented kitchen (or green) |
| with the planning, preparation and packing. Even if it | | | | waste curb side pickup. If your local school doesn't |
| does take longer to make the lunches, in the long | | | | have food waste pickup, ensure your kid brings the |
| run, the kids will be much more self sufficient at meal | | | | "leftovers" home for composting or proper disposal. |
| time. And plus, when they are invested in the | | | | With the right supplies, some planning and a |
| process, they tend to actually eat the meal. If your | | | | commitment to producing less waste in our landfills, |
| kids are slightly older, try having them plan and pack | | | | it's easy to make the change to go litterless at lunch |
| everyone's lunch at least one day per week. | | | | time. |
| 3. Avoid buying single-serving juice boxes, snack | | | | |