packing a waste-free school lunch

[spotty_dog]

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).

Whereas we only got curbside recycling a few months ago. And they don't take glass. Or clamshell plastic containers. Or #5 (yogurt tubs).

[MrsK]

We pay extra for recycling here and we don't know anyone else who recycles here.

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[GrayMatterWife]

We have recycling here. I don't think it's mandatory, but everyone does it, because it is awesomely convenient. You have to separate glass from everything else. I don't give a darned about all this save-the-earth stuff, but I gladly recycle because they do it smart: the recycling is picked up on a different day. We have recycling of glass on Monday, trash Tues, other recycling on Wed, trash on Fri. It rocks. I get rid of trash four days a week. I never have tons of build-up.

[diggitydot]

I was bummed when we moved here to find that there was zero recycling pick up. We just drop it off when we go through town at the drop boxes. Glass is harder, through. We have to take that to the next valley over from us to the recycler. It's not a big deal until the snows hit and we have a dicey ride over the pass.

[Sheherezade]

We've got great recycling. No sorting, large 64 gallon bins that go out on the same day as garbage -- and as I said, the town does not get charged for the weights that go in to recycling streams.

I started using more aluminum cans after a read on recycling expose that suggested that plastic is often not easy to move in the recycling market and ends up getting dumped anyway. I think the garbage collection people do the sort and then sell the collected material to the appropriate places for profit. Aluminum is apparently the easiest to sell and recycle for new use.

[spotty_dog]

I was bummed when we moved here to find that there was zero recycling pick up. We just drop it off when we go through town at the drop boxes. Glass is harder, through. We have to take that to the next valley over from us to the recycler. It's not a big deal until the snows hit and we have a dicey ride over the pass.

See, before we got curbside, we could take everything for free to the dump 10 minutes away. It was fine and we had a system. But then they added a mandatory fee for curbside, except they wouldn't take glass, so we still have to make a separate trip. Annoying.

[BonBon]

Wow, I guess I kinda figured everyone had curbside pick-up these days. Like I said we've had it now since 1990(!)...I remember it started as I was finishing up high school and I had to write a paper on incineration vs recycling. We've also got zero-sort, which makes it easier.

[diggitydot]

We had curbside pick-up in the same state as where we live now back when I was in high school in the 90s. We now live in a very different part of the state.

[Pollyanna]

Lol, our preK teachers encourage disposable products.

[SoonerTexan]

Dang it, the nibble trays are out of stock. Bummed. N loved it and I haven't found anything quite as good. Should have gotten more than 1.

http://www.amazon.com/baby/dp/B002V92XRQ

[Deebs]

Ok - we have Bumkins and Itzy Ritzy bags, both with zippers. I like the IR bags best because they're single layered and clean easily, but I still think they may not last the long haul.

[alison]

Oooh, I like those Deebs. Cute! I need to put something super tasty in containers that aren't see-through, otherwise she won't bother to look inside, let alone take a bite.... She has never ever asked for more food. It's a mystery to me how she subsists on such little food.

I actually still basically feed her like a baby, because food never finds her mouth. .

If I have another baby, I really want a good eater!

[Flynn]

Alison, aren't you fined in your city if your garbage bins have recycling in them?

I am laughing fondly at your comments Alison. When we moved back here DD freaked when she was done with her lunch at school. There are about 9 bins for everything and it "stressed her out" to have to put everything in the right place! She brought her uneaten food and garbage in her lunch box home for a week before she felt comfortable tossing things where they go.

Recycling is a way of life here, like buying milk and toilet paper. In my city, which is a good hour south of Alison, glass is not picked up for recycling on the street but there are no less than THREE places you can recycle glass in town (a suburb about 7500 people total). On weekends there are lines where people are waiting to drop their glass off -- and this is a choice!

[alison]

Yes, you're fined. You get a couple of warnings first, and then fined. If you consistently sort your stuff incorrectly (recyclables in waste, compostables in waste, waste in recycle bin, etc.), you get a tag on your can with a sorting guide. You can look up what goes in what bin, because sometimes it's hard! No styrofoam in the city, either! Merchants no longer have plastic bags, and you have to pay 5 cents (per bag) to have them pack your groceries in their paper bags. Everyone brings their own reusable bags. Or you just roll your grocery cart to your car and put it directly in your trunk.

On the flip side to all of this, the city is GREAT and super responsive when lights are out or maintenance needs to be done. They answer their phones, are friendly, and do their jobs quickly and efficiently.

[spotty_dog]

Yeah, so compostable lunches would be SO much easier for the teachers than disposable products, because you'd still have to sort uneaten food into the compost if the stuff was packed in Ziplock or whatever.