The single-use snack bag has run its course.
Or at least it has for Erica Augustyniak and Bethany Nye, who said they rarely if ever pull one out of their lunch boxes when they sit down in the cafeteria at Owens Corning in Toledo.
“It’s been a gradual process over the past few years,” Ms. Nye said.
“As a kid, I grew up with the little snack baggies. But then once I got old enough to start making my own decisions about what to buy from the grocery store, it’s been less and less plastic bags over time,” she said. “Now it’s to the point where I actively try to avoid using plastic bags.”
In preferring to pack the contents of their lunches in reusable containers, like the lidded glass bowl and plastic snack cup over which they chatted during a recent lunch hour, they said they’re conscious of the environmental impact of their mid-day decisions. Ms. Nye also prefers to forgo a plastic spoon in favor of the washable-and-reusable ones her employer supplies in the cafeteria, part of a company-driven sustainability effort that also incorporates diverting waste to compost.
Their environmentally conscious decisions also position them within what some see as a rising tide of lunch-goers who are re-thinking the ways they can reduce, reuse and recycle.
“I think we’re becoming aware of the negative impacts of single-use plastic, and I think people are making an effort,” Melissa Greene Hopfer of the Toledo-Lucas County Sustainability Commission said. “I think there is a movement.”
And lunchtime is an easy opportunity to get on board, she and others said.
“The No. 1 easiest way to get started in the zero-waste lifestyle is to start using reusable containers, water bottles, utensils and napkins at lunchtime,” Sandra Ann Harris, founder and CEO of the California-based ECOlunchbox, said. “Anyone can do it.”
Packing a lunch with an eye toward the environment can involve both the contents and the containers, according to Ms. Hopfer, who along with Withdraw the Straw’s Kaitlin Plate, offered suggestions on how to pack the most environmentally friendly lunch. Ms. Plate is spearheading local efforts to replace single-use plastic straws with biodegradable or reusable alternatives.
And the benefits of packing an environmentally friendly lunch can extend beyond Mother Nature, oftentimes to one’s physical and financial well-being.
Matt Schroder is another frequent lunch-packer at Owens Corning. While he said his company’s efforts toward sustainability have made him more conscious of the environmental impact of his preference — single-use plastic is tough to find in the cafeteria line anymore, for example; the company favors reusable and compostable alternatives — it wasn’t his initial motivation.
“It’s economical and it’s healthier, if you pack right,” he said.
ECOlunchbox estimates that a family could save $450 a year by cutting single-use plastics at lunchtime, based on calculations for one adult and two children eating 180 meals a year. Cost-cutting measures range from simply swapping a reusable container for a single-use bag to shifting tactics at the grocery store, such as buying juice, yogurt and snack mixes in bulk.
ECOlunchbox’s product line incorporates non-plastic materials like metal, silicone and cotton.
For those who are interested in getting started — or in tackling the next tier of reduce, reuse, recycle — there are a wide variety of reusable products. They range from the pretty standard Tupperware™ that’s long been stashed in cupboards, to more unusual options like biodegradable hay straws that are a favorite suggestion of Ms. Plate.
Ms. Hopfer sees the surge in products as a response to increasing demand for them. On Etsy, an online marketplace for homemade goods, for example, a spokesman reported a 43 percent increase in searches for biodegradable items and a 29 percent increase in eco-friendly items in the last three months, compared to the same period last year.
“We’re seeing a lot of products and things becoming available, because people are interested in reducing single-use plastic,” Ms. Hopfer said.
Some suggestions to for an environmentally friendly lunch:
■ Go for a lunch box. It’s better than a brown bag, and it doesn’t have to look like the superhero-themed one you carried to elementary school, Ms. Hopfer said. Browse the endless options for one that’s durable – ideally, you won’t be replacing it often.
■ Use what’s on hand. Any reusable is better than disposable, and what you have on hand is a good way to reduce, reuse and cut down consumption, Ms. Plate said. So take a look at that glass jelly jar or that plastic Tupperware™ that’s already in the cupboard.
■ Cut down on plastics. If you are in the market for new reusable containers, non-plastic is best, Ms. Hopfer and Ms. Plate said. Petroleum-based plastic carries a large carbon footprint, in terms of production. So consider materials like glass, metal or silicone.
■ And cut down plastic bags, particularly. If you prefer Ziploc-style bags, try a soft-sided alternative made of silicone, cloth, paper or other materials. As an alternative to plastic wrap, Ms. Plate suggests Bee’s Wrap, a beeswax-coated cotton.
■ BYOU. Utensils, that is. Ms. Hopfer keeps a set of silverware, plus a reusable straw, at her desk. Sets like hers are readily available, easy to keep on hand and a convenient way to cut out sporks, straws and other one-time-use lunchtime accouterments.
■ Buy in bulk. Cut out the pre-packaged plastics by buying in bulk, Ms. Hopfer and Ms. Plate recommend. Opt for family-size when it comes to chips, pretzels or nuts — whatever you’d be eating anyway — then reapportion it yourself into reusable containers.
■ Shop consciously. A meatless meal is a positive nod to the environment, given the energy that goes into producing meat, Ms. Hopfer said. She and Ms. Plate also suggest eating local and in season, which can likewise lesson a carbon footprint by cutting down on the energy associated with production and transportation.
■ Celebrate successes. Proud of what you’ve packed? Post to Instagram! Tell your friends! Ms. Plate says that’s the way to build positive momentum in the community. And don’t worry if you’re not perfect, she adds. It’s about small steps leading to big change.
First Published August 10, 2019, 2:00 p.m.
