It’s estimated that the average school student’s lunchbox generates 30 kilos of rubbish each year. Plastic wrap, plastic bags, juice boxes and pre-packaged snack food wrappers are all contributing to a mountain of unnecessary waste, which ends up in landfill or pollutes our oceans. Packing a waste free lunchbox for your kids will not only reduce your impact on the environment, it will also save you money and help your kids eat healthier by avoiding packaged and processed foods. Here are five simple steps you can take to create a waste free lunchbox:
  • Give Up the Plastic Wrap For Good

    The right lunchbox and/or containers are essential. Go for an all-in-one lunchbox with separate compartments for different foods, or a collection of different sized reusable containers for lunch items like sandwiches, sushi, cut up fruit, yoghurt and dips, which you can then pack into an insulated bag. Stainless steel is a good choice for lunchboxes as it is easy to clean, durable and food safe.

  • Ditch the packaged food.

    Yes, it’s easy to be pressured into buying those plastic or foil wrapped biscuits, chips and muesli bars, but these foods are heavily processed, low in nutrition, expensive and way over- packaged. Swap packets of biscuits or individually wrapped muesli bars for healthier home-made versions packed straight into a lunchbox or a beeswax wrap; instead of potato chips, try home made popcorn in a paper bag; and rather than a dried fruit roll-up, pack fresh cut up fruit.

  • Buying in Bulk = Less Waste

    AND better value for money. Instead of plastic-wrapped processed cheese sticks, buy a large block of cheese and cut into sticks, cubes or shapes. Swap flavoured squeezie yoghurts (high in sugar and unnecessary packaging) for a large tub of plain yoghurt that can portioned into small containers or reusable pouches through the week.

  • Buy a Reusable Drink Bottle

    A good quality stainless steel bottle will see your child through many years of schooling, and will help you avoid those plastic bottles and boxes of juice that are high in sugar, low in nutrition and create excess waste.

  • Compost Your Food Scraps

    Find out if your school has a composting program, and if not suggest that they start one. Composting food scraps saves a huge amount of waste going to landfill. If you have your own compost system, ask children to bring their food scraps home.

The Source Bulk Foods is proud to stock the best waste free lunch boxes on the planet.  Click here to see our range of PlanetBox lunch boxes.

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