ReusableBags.com has put together a fantastic guide to how to pack a waste-free lunch and what the benefits of doing so are -

From brown-paper lunch bags to plastic wraps and baggies to the unnecessary packaging of single-serving foods, our addiction to fast and “convenient” lunch products adds billions of tons of trash to landfills each year, not to mention the enormous waste of money and natural resources required to produce and dispose of packaging. (EPA and U.S. Census data)

Adopting a waste-free lunch lifestyle is a simple way to reduce consumption – literally on a daily basis. Making lunches more sustainable cuts down on thousands of use-and-toss items, while saving money in the long run.

Using lunch-related “reusables” fits right into our overall lifestyle philosophy of “reduce, reuse and save.” Smart, reusable lunch options like fabric lunch bags, reusable sandwich wraps and snack bags, and reusable bottles, reusable food containers and accessories (like reusable napkins, straws and utensils) reduce the amount of paper and plastic lunch waste that goes into our landfills. They also save you money, by avoiding the rip-off of single-serving foods and minimizing or eliminating money spent on throwaway bags, wraps and containers. Plus, by choosing lunch containers made out of high-quality materials such as stainless steel and cloth, you can reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals like phthalates and BPA as well as lead in lunch boxes. (Check out our buying guide for help selecting the right waste-free lunch tools for you.)

Our Top Facts: Why Are “Use-and-Toss” Brown-Bag Lunches So Wasteful?

• Close to 2.7 billion juice boxes end up in landfills every year. (Container Recycling Institute)
• Each child who brings a brown-bag lunch to school every day will generate 67 pounds of waste by the end of the school year – that’s 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for an average-sized school! (EPA)
• According to the 2004 U.S. Census data, there are 36.4 million elementary school-age children and 16.8 million high school-age children. If every child adopted a waste-free lunch (including finishing all of their food), we could divert more than 3.5 billion pounds of trash from our landfills each year.
• Each year the U.S. consumes over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps. (EPA)
• Lunchtime trash is second only to office paper as the leading source of school waste. (Green Teacher Magazine, Fall 2004)
• A disposable lunch costs $4.02 per day, versus $2.65 for a waste-free lunch. That translates to a savings of about $246.60 per child per year. wastefreelunches.org

Tips for Packing Waste-Free Lunches

Do pack:

• Reusable fabric lunch bags or lunch containers
• Sandwiches in reusable wraps, bags or containers
• Drinks and soups in reusable containers, such as a thermos, or recyclable containers, such as cans or glass bottles
• Snacks purchased in bulk and packed in reusable containers or bags
• Whole fruits without packaging
• Cloth napkins
• Stainless steel or glass straws
• Stainless steel or bamboo reusable utensils

Don’t pack:

• Paper lunch bags
• Plastic baggies that are not reusable
• Individually- wrapped snacks, meals or desserts
• Juice boxes
• Disposable forks and spoons
• Disposable straws
• Paper napkins

Not sure what tools you need to pack a waste-free lunch? Check out our helpful buying guide.

Other tips:
While single-serving options are great for boosting food companies’ profits, many are just a plain waste of your money. Think bulk, not single-serving. You’ll save money by buying in bulk, natural resources by opting out of wasteful and excessive packaging, and divert trash from our landfills:

• Instead of buying individually-wrapped granola bars, chips, cookies or cheeses, buy in bulk and pack in reusable bags and containers.
• Do the same for yogurt, pudding and applesauce – pack in reusable jars or bottles, rather than buying single-serve portions.
• Purchase (or make your own) large quantities of beverages and soups, then pack in reusable bottles and thermoses.
• Cut sandwiches into quarters to fit inside of any container.

Our 5 Steps to a Waste-Free Lunch: