packing a waste-free school lunch

[oceanchild]

Rubbermaid is selling bento type boxes (LunchBlox, I think) in grocery stores now.

I have a laptop lunchbox for myself, and I love it, but I think the lids could be tough for a preschooler.

[v-girl]

WTF?

That was my first thought too.

[MrsK]

That was my first thought too.

Me too. This falls into the category of judgmental bs that makes life more difficult for parents when parenting is hard enough. One of my friends told me her kids' school drove her crazy with things like "bring a pancake to school day" and brown t-shirt day or some such nonsense every single day. Why complicate my life?

[SuzySunshine]

Depending on the school size, I can see their point. Our preschool isn't very big and since there is no cafeteria they don't have the usual trash facilities that a school with a lunch program would. They ask for minimal trash and if a lunch isn't eaten they send it home like that instead of throwing it away. I actually kind of like it because then I know what my kids did or didn't eat.

I used those divided ziploc containers last year with both kids and they never had any issues with them.

[Sheherezade]

I totally agree on the school directives complicating life thing. BUT - I'd like to share a perspective on recycling I learned last night at our local government meeting. There is a trend to push recycling out to residents as a way to reduce government costs. We are charged for every ton of garbage hauled away but not charged for garbage that enters the recycling stream. Hence, the more recycling trash = less charged garbage. It may be that school districts are also charged for tonnage and reducing Cheetos bags will reduce their bottom line costs.

In Boston, the school used to have the kids pack their trash back up in their lunchbox to return home. This showed parents what the kids didn't eat that day and also made the trash get disposed at home and paid for by the homeowners garbage plan. Problem solved. I seriously admire many of the policies at that school now - years later.

[Thirteen]

It could also be a city-wide, plastic free initiative. Many cities in the US are doing away with plastic bags - maybe this is something that the school must do now?


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[Auspicious]

Snapware is water-tight (for applesauce, etc.) but my three-year-old can still open it herself.

[alison]

I would love to hear what the zipper baggies are called, deebs.

I have zero problem with the waste-free lunches. In fact, I actually find it to be a good thing.

[alison]

Just investigated wax paper, and most aren't compostable because of a layer of silicone coating. Darn!

[Meenah]

What happens if you have a bad morning and use the wrong packaging?

[alison]

Then you are banned from school for the week.

[alison]

Just kidding. They would like us to pack a waste free lunch. It's not mandatory.

[spotty_dog]

Just investigated wax paper, and most aren't compostable because of a layer of silicone coating. Darn!

Just checked and you're right, mine are labeled "Landfill Safe"! Yeesh. I still prefer not to use plastic if it's not necessary but it almost feels deceitful to make a pretty little brown paper baggie that doesn't break down.

Those who are aghast at this directive, remember that this is in a city that has city-wide composting. Providing a compostable container means instead of chucking in the trash bin, they can chuck it in the compost bin. Not much else changes.

[alison]

Even going to a suburb here is a bit of a culture shock to me. I stand in front of a garbage can and think to myself "wait a second, it all goes in one can? Should I take this home and at least recycle it?"

I'd forgotten that we are pretty much the only city that separates waste (you get a warning letter -and then fee - if you put stuff in the wrong bin).

It is a non-issue here. We do it at home all day long, so why shouldn't it be done at school?

[BonBon]

I have a laptop lunchbox for myself, and I love it, but I think the lids could be tough for a preschooler.

Yeah...judging from the tooth marks on the lids, I think my kids sometimes struggle with getting them off. In preschool I bought some rubbermaid type containers that had a screw cap, and those worked well. My kids had a hard time with the gladware containers so I could never fully close them.

Re: being waste-free...I dunno. I've been recycling since 1990, composting for ~8 years. I think the less waste we produce is a good thing. Our family of 6 is down to a single 13-gallon bag of trash per week, and it's usually not even full. Maybe because I've been doing it for so long, it doesn't seem like a big deal to me?