Waste Free Lunch

Feed your child... not your bin

Why pack a waste-free lunch?

There are many convenient food options that are appealing when packing a lunch box. However, these are usually individually wrapped food items such as a packet of crisps or a single chocolate bar, which all produce non-recyclable (and in most cases plastic) packaging waste. This soon adds up when this is produced by every child in a school, every school day for their entire school lives. Why not opt for a waste free lunch, which has many advantages. Not only is it kinder to the environment, but food that is naturally packaged tends to be healthier and it could even save you money.

Top waste free lunch tips

Putting your child's food in a reusable lunchbox keeps it fresh and avoids clingfilm and foil which go straight in the bin after use.
Choosing food that is wrapped by nature such as fruit and chopped vegetables reduces the need for packaging, is healthy and the peelings can be composted. Visit our composting pages to find out more about the benefits of composting at home.
Using reusable drinks bottles mean there is no need for individual cartons or drinks pouches that go straight in the bin.
Buying items in bulk reduces the amount of packaging used - e.g. buying a big bag of crisps and putting each day's amount in a reusable container avoids five individual packets going in the bin and usually costs less too.
Avoid disposable cutlery or napkins, pack reusable alternatives instead, which work out cheaper to purchase in the long term.

The problems with plastic packaging.

Councils in Surrey are always trying to recycle as many materials as possible to prevent waste ending up in landfill. Currently most councils can recycle plastic bottles, however this is frequently changing, so please check our pages for householders to find out what you can recycle in your local area. The recycling of other commonly used plastic items (such as margarine tubs, yoghurt pots and plastic wrapping) is much more difficult as they are made from a very wide range of polymers (chemical compounds). Markets for items remanufactured from these plastics are limited in the UK, as many can not be easily reprocessed into high quality new products. Therefore the majority of lunch box waste ends up in landfill. When our rubbish decays in landfill it emits methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more damaging than carbon dioxide (source: www.defra.gov.uk). So, you can have a large impact on the waste you and your children create everyday.

Waste-Free Lunch Activity

Now you know the benefits of a waste-free lunch, why don't you and your child design your own? Use our specially created worksheet and clearly label the items in the lunchbox, explaining what would happen to the left-over waste. Is it either reusable, recyclable or compostable? Why will no waste go to landfill?

For your chance to win a great prize for you and your child, send your completed design along with both of your names and a contact email or telephone number to:

The Waste Minimisation Team, Surrey Waste Management, Vine Court, Chalkpit Lane, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1AJ