The Green Lunchbox Series: Part 2 of 3
Now that we've tackled thermoses and reusable water bottles in Part 1 of the Green Lunchbox Series (and thank you very much for your helpful comments!), let's delve further into the lunchbox and see what works and what doesn't work for reusable containers.
First of all, why not just pack your kids' lunches in a bunch of disposable plastic baggies and be done with it? They're quick and simple, so what's the problem? Well, to answer that question, I came across some sobering research from Ian Thomson, who founded Ocean Crusaders in June 2010 after setting the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of Australia. Thomson is on a personal crusade to educate the world about the issues our oceans are facing. If you think all of that plastic cannot possibly amount to much, the North Pacific Garbage Patch might help you view it differently. Says Thomson, "Plastic is like diamonds--it lasts forever." It may take just seconds to throw a few snacks into some plastic baggies, but the hard, cold fact is that all of those plastic baggies will be lurking around the planet for eons. Thomson writes: "It can take between 20-1,000 years for a plastic bag to break up...into smaller pieces. They don’t break down and those that do, break down into polymers and toxic chemicals." (OceanCrusaders.org) All of that plastic garbage kills marine life and clogs up our oceans. It's clearly time to forego the disposable plastic baggies and pack a more responsible lunch. So...onto the Road Test!
Our family started out with these reusable plastic containers. With all four sides having a latch that's easy for small children to open and close, they seem like a winner. They stack nicely together in the cabinet, so they don't take up a lot of room and they're easy to find (the lids lock right into the bases). However, even though they can go in the top rack of a dishwasher (I don't want to hand-wash all of these little containers every night), this seriously compromises their longevity. After a few months, the latches can weaken. I'll give these containers a B+.
Kinetic Go Green Food Containers
Next, we found the Kinetic Go Green containers. They take up more room in the cabinet because they don't click together like the Rubbermaid containers. However, they hold up longer in the dishwasher than the Rubbermaid containers (from one to two years with everyday use), so I'm giving them an A-.
Farberware Classic Food Storage
Next, it was onto Farberware. Realizing that these types of containers just cannot be used for more than a couple of years if you use them every day (see above two examples), Farberware is biodegradable and recyclable. Major green points for that. They get an A.
We've also used these stainless steel containers. We love that they're not made of plastic, but they are relatively bulky and can get heavy in a lunchbox (depending on what's in them), so we went right back to using the Farberware. Still, for durability, construction, and ease of use for the dishwasher, I'll give these a B.
Even though I've found reasonably good food storage containers, I'm making a concerted effort to seriously cut down on plastics in our house--even the reusable, recyclable ones--so this school year, we're going to be exploring those little, washable packets made of cloth, with velcro closures. Our school's Green Team is currently in the research stage of exploring a fundraiser with reusable cloth packets, so for now, I'll leave you with this example: LunchSkins. But there are many more brands available. I'll keep you posted on how those work out in the future.
As with Part 1 of this series, if you have a green lunchbox product that has worked for you (or one that hasn't), please leave a comment below with the details.
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