Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.
Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
Ladies and lads who pack their own lunch are already making an economically-savvy choice, but by packing these homemade goodies into a reusable bag, your choice is as eco-conscious as it is economical. Dining with your own reusable setup can greatly reduce the amount of plastic, paper and aluminum needed to keep your delicious treats pristine until lunchtime. From the old-fashioned metal lunch box (go ahead, see if you can dig out The Incredible Hulk one from 30 years ago), to the updated soft plastic sacks, options abound for those seeking to tote their lunch.
Metal lunch boxes are retro and responsible. There is a lunch box for practically every comic book, Disney character or classic kids show, and your lunch will stay protected in its hard outer shell. You can probably even find a great “new” lunch box at your local vintage shop.
While concerns have been raised in recent years about lead in soft lunch boxes made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), there are plenty of lead-free insulated lunch bags made by companies such as Cool Totes and Built NY, which are all available online. Reusable ice packs can also come in handy to keep your food fresh.
When shopping for the perfect lunch set up, consider the basics you include with each meal. The Laptop Lunches Bento Box includes not only the insulated lead-free carrying case, but also a water bottle, inner storage containers and utensils.
Materials range from canvas to plastics, and with a little scoping, it is possible to find products enjoying a second life. Basura, for instance, makes insulated lead-free lunch boxes from recycled juice containers.
Clean up is as important as being prepared. ACME makes organic cotton lunch bags that are reusable and machine washable. There are many other easy to clean and durable natural cloth options available, such as Mimi the Sardine, which makes colorful cloth lunch bags.
Don’t have a whole lunch, but still need a home for your snack on the go? SIGG’s aluminum snack boxes with snap-locks are perfect for a sandwich or snack.
What should you do when the reusable gets worn out? Use Earth 911’s recycling locator to find a company that will accept post-consumer waste vinyl, aluminum, or cotton for recycling.
Want to save even more resources and money? Try reusable cloth napkins and utensils, and pack each food item in a reusable container. Find more tips on packing a waste free lunch at wastefreelunch.org.
