Green Means  

Packing Lunch Can Be Good for the Environment

By Shannon Scott
 deepgreenresults@gmail.com  

      Go green? Green up? Live green? What does all this trendy lingo mean?

Every day everything we do has an impact on the planet and our health. As individuals we have control over choices and the impact we create – from the healthiness and energy efficiency of our homes, the clothes on our backs, and what we eat to how we vacation, shop, and dispose of unwanted items.

Going green means taking conscious actions to reduce consumption, minimize pollution, and conserve resources and energy. It means considering where things come from, how they’re made, how far they traveled from source to consumer, and what their overall environmental and human health impacts are – from origin to end to origin again.

We can’t stop going to work or eating, but there are ways to minimize negative impacts on human and environmental health.

Let’s reduce consumption. 

Reuse containers. Don’t buy individually wrapped anything. Most all processed foods, foods that we buy pre-made, are often heavily packaged. These packages end up in landfills, along highways, littering schools and neighborhood streets.

Pack lunch using food safe plastic containers, washable drink bottles, and reusable lunch carriers. Avoid plastic wrap, zip plastic bags, paper sacks, and individual beverage containers.

Some savvy schools, dotted across the U.S., have banned plastic wrap, Zip-loc bags, and paper lunch sacks. Students must use recyclable materials, such as Tupperware or other washables. The schools are cleaner with less trash, thus less trash pick-up costs, and young people learn important lessons in conservation. As a direct result, lunches are healthier. Instead of eating high salt, highly preserved Lunchables, non-nutritious sacks of Cheetos, or cups of minimally nutritious noodles in non biodegradable Styrofoam, kids and adults are eating something better – minimally processed sandwiches, fresh fruit, or leftovers from dinner.

Studies conducted across the U.S. recognize fast food containers as the primary identifiable source of urban litter. (Based upon hiking local hills, I’d say Bud Light cans are the primary source of rural litter.) Not only is fast food a poor health and quality-of-life choice, but it’s also a poor earth-friendly and socially responsible choice.

   There used to be an ad slogan: “Diamonds are Forever”. Not true. Carbon has a half life and breaks down. However, Styrofoam is forever – opt not to buy cups or anything packaged in it. Even in the landfills, they may crumble slightly, but those fast food containers are here to stay.

     We, Americans, use 84 billion plastic bags per year, about twenty percent of the world’s total. Plastic bags are not biodegradable nor are most plastics recycled. Recycling plastic is difficult because of the separation process for the different chemical compositions and colors. It’s simply not cost effective for producers. Reuse plastic grocery bags for trash can liners, carrying lunch, or cleaning up after the dog, until they disintegrate as much can be expected, then avoid getting more.

   Pulp and paper mills are the third largest industrial polluters to air, water, and land in both Canada and the United States. Pulp mill excretions contain hormone-disrupting and carcinogenic chemicals, such as chlorinated phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). Pulp mills are a significant source of airborne dioxins and furans - among the most carcinogenic (cancer causing) substances known. If everyone used reusable bags for even one trip to the store, we’d save 60,000 trees, and cut down on the toxins released into our air, water, and soil. I consistently use shopping totes I received for making the minimum donation to a wild lands association. Reusable totes must be washed periodically as random swab tests conducted at grocery stores tested positive for harmful e-coli. bacteria that may be on produce or meats.

     Purchasing fewer packaged products is a small individual step that results in a huge collective impact. When we use less, container manufacturers need fewer natural and chemical resources, and use less energy. Supply and distribution transportation are reduced, fossil fuel use is minimized, and we create a cleaner environment. Speaking of transportation, driving less, obviously, reduces consumption. Make fewer trips out, carpool, or consolidate runs to the store.

     What does it mean to go green? It means living better. Individually and collectively we make a difference. By simply packing lunches we just might eat a little healthier. Reusing containers reduces trash in our neighborhoods and pollution in our environment. Driving less reduces oil dependency and saves our bank accounts. When we green up, we wise up.