How to Pack a Waste‐Free Lunch

Co-authored by Kathryn Kellogg and Hunter Rising

Last Updated: October 13, 2021 References

Many people pack their food in plastic bags before putting it in a brown paper sack. Unfortunately, many components in a sack lunch are just thrown away. Packing a waste-free lunch helps reduce food waste and protect the environment. By picking low-waste foods and putting them in reusable containers, you can eat lunch without any trash!

Steps

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Bringing Reusable Dinnerware

1. 1
   Buy a reusable lunch box instead of using paper bags. Find a lunch box or bag that’s large enough to hold the food you usually pack. Keep the lunch box in a fridge to keep your food cold until lunchtime. When you’re finished eating, make sure to bring your box back home to use the next day.

   • Look for an insulated lunch box if you need to keep food hot or cold. If you don’t have an insulated lunch box or access to a fridge, put a reusable ice pack in your lunch box to keep it cold.
   • Steel lunch boxes are great alternatives if you want to avoid using plastic or other packing containers.
   • Lunch boxes are sold in many stores throughout the year, but more designs will be available during the late summer when back to school shopping occurs.
   • If you need to use a brown paper bag, be sure to recycle it when you’re finished.
2. 2
   Put food in resealable plastic containers. Avoid using plastic bags to store your food. Use portion-sized containers to reduce the amount of space you use inside your lunch box. When you’re finished with your lunch, put the containers back in your lunch box so you can wash them at home.

   • Reusable containers also help you save money since you don’t have to keep buying plastic storage bags.
   • Bento boxes are reusable containers with multiple compartments so you can store many kinds of food in one easy to carry package.

   Other Container Types

   Use glass container if you need to microwave your food. Glass is the most microwave-safe container to use. Just be careful since it could be hot when you remove it.

   Use cloth for dry foods. Cloth bags work great for sandwiches, grapes, and other foods that aren't wet. However, food wrapped in a cloth can be easily crushed.
3. 3
   Pour drinks into a reusable bottle. Fill a hard plastic bottle with your preferred drink rather than buying single-serve bottles. Add a few ice cubes to keep your drink cold. When you’re finished with your drink, you can rinse it out and fill it with water throughout the day. Wash your bottle each night to use again the next day.

   • Keep hot drinks, or even soup, in a Thermos to keep them piping hot.
   • Wide-mouthed bottles make it easier to wash the insides and add ice cubes.
   • Avoid using juice boxes or pouches since these create a lot of waste. Pour juice from a large bottle at home into a reusable bottle or mason jar to bring with your lunch.
4. 4
   Pack your own metal silverware. Bring a fork, knife, and spoon with you from home so you don’t have to use disposable plastic silverware. When you’ve finished your lunch, rinse off any food scraps before putting the silverware back in your box. Wash the silverware at home so you can easily use it again.

   • You only have to bring the silverware you are going to use for your meal.
5. 5
   Bring a cloth napkin instead of paper. Paper waste accounts for 15% of food waste. Keep a tea towel or cloth in your lunch box until it gets dirty. When the cloth gets dirty, take it home and wash it with the rest of your laundry.

   • Keep multiple cloth napkins in your home so you have an easy replacement if one gets dirty before you need to do laundry.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Packing Food Efficiently

1. 1
   Purchase snack foods in bulk rather than single-serve portions. Single-serve packages produce a lot of waste from their wrappers. Instead, buy a larger container of the snack food to keep at home. For lunch, fill a small reusable container with the snack food with the portion you’d normally eat.

   • For example, instead of buying small bags of chips each day for your lunch, purchase a family-sized bag to keep in your pantry. Pack a small serving in a container for your lunch.
   • Bulk packages of food tend to be cheaper than single-serve portions.

   Making Single-Serve Portions

   Snack Crackers: Instead of getting on-the-go packages, keep a big box at home. Put a serving into a resealable plastic container for your lunch.

   Yogurt: Purchase a large tub of the flavor you like. Pour a serving into a reusable container to put in your lunch. Add granola or fresh fruits to even make it into a parfait!
2. 2
   Eat whole pieces of fruit instead of processed fruit cups. Put fruits like apples, pears, and bananas in your lunch box without a container. This way, you still easily get a serving of fruit in your meal without any of the plastic waste.

   • If you’re packing a lunch for a child, consider cutting the fruit into pieces and putting it in plastic containers. Many children only take a few bites of whole fruit before throwing them away.
3. 3
   Pack leftover food if you have access to a microwave. Take leftovers that you have left from a previous meal and store them in a microwave-safe container. Heat your food when it’s time for lunch. This way, you can eat the extra food you have rather than making a new meal.

   • Leftovers are great and easy choices if you’ve run out of time in the morning to prepare a lunch.
4. 4
   Compost any food scraps if you can. Compost is great to add nutrients to planting soil. If you don’t have leftover food that you can save for another meal, bring the food scraps home. Throw your scraps into a compost bin or pile outside to use in a garden.

   • If you’re a child, talk to your parents before you start a compost bin or pile.

Help Reducing Waste

Disposable Food Packaging to Avoid

Quick Tips for Reducing Food Waste

Expert Q&A

• Question

  How do you separate food in a lunch box?

  Kathryn Kellogg

  Sustainability Specialist

  Expert Answer

  Try a tiered metal lunch box to keep your food separated. For carrying your lunch, try a two-tiered tiffin, which is a metal lunch box. They're lightweight and durable, so they're great for traveling. In the top part, you can put a sandwich, and in the bottom section you can put things like apples or carrot slices. You can even use silicon muffin or cupcake liners to separate items or to hold a little sauce.
• Question

  How do I stop producing so much trash at lunch?

  Kathryn Kellogg

  Sustainability Specialist

  Expert Answer

  Get creative when you're thinking about how to reduce waste! There are a number of ways to pack a waste free lunch. It just depends on what you like to eat. If you're bringing a sandwich, for instance, you could wrap it in a beeswax wrap or in a silicone stasher bag, or you could put it in a metal lunchbox. If you're eating soup, you could put it in a mason jar. What's great about that is you can take the lid off and put it directly in the microwave and you don't have to decant it or anything.
• Question

  How do you reduce the amount of packaging you use?

  Kathryn Kellogg

  Sustainability Specialist

  Expert Answer

  Stop buying individually wrapped items like sliced apples or chips. Instead, buy the whole item and chop it up yourself.

Tips

• Continue your waste-free practices at home with your other meals. Going waste-free is more cost-effective and will help the environment.

Things You’ll Need

• Reusable lunch box
• Plastic or glass containers
• Reusable water bottle
• Silverware
• Cloth napkin

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