It's not always easy to go zero waste and these tips are great starters!
Tips For A Zero-Waste, Low-Waste, or Plastic-Free Lifestyle
Have you fallen out of the habit of packing your school or work lunch? Do you currently pack your lunch and want some quick low waste tips and easy sustainable swaps? Has your kid's school requested "litter-less lunches"? Read on for our low waste solutions.
Re-think "brown bagging it"
Skip the classic brown bag (aka: disposable paper bag) and choose a reusable lunch bag that you love. Durable and stylish, our rice sack lunch bag is made from upcycled materials, reducing waste even further.
Phase out plastic baggies
Do you currently rely on plastic ziplock baggies to pack your sandwiches and snacks? The average United States family uses 500 Ziploc bags each year! These can be easily replaced with a few of our reusable zippered snack bags. Get a set for each family member who packs a lunch and eliminate the need for single use baggies.
Un-cling from cling film
Maybe plastic wrap is your go-to for packing lunches and you're looking for a more eco-friendly alternative. Maybe you've seen beeswax wraps but would prefer something vegan. Try our vegan wax food wraps! Made from organic cotton, infused with plant waxes and tree resin. They're just as flexible and useful as their plastic counterpart but have no negative impact on the planet.
Organic Vegan Food Wraps:
3 snack size, 3 variety pack, 5 variety pack, singles
"It's just one straw", said 7.8 billion people
Americans use 500 million drinking straws every day. You can always skip the straw entirely, but if you like drinking with one, reusable straws are a great Earth-friendly option.
Reusable Silicone Straws
Reusable Bamboo Straws
What about cutlery?
Each year 40,000,000,000 plastic forks, spoons, and knives are used and thrown away. The easiest swap is to just pack your lunch with a set of regular cutlery from your drawer. You can also get yourself a dedicated lunch set, if you like. Keep your cutlery, and the inside of your bag, clean and tidy with our wide snack bag.
BONUS: takeout tips
It happens, sometimes you just have to get takeout and that's ok! Ask your favourite takeout place if they'll let you bring your own container, you might be surprised at how many say yes! Either way, you can still use our straw and cutlery tips above to help reduce your takeout waste.
If you're in Toronto, see if there's a Suppli partner restaurant near you! Suppli is on a mission to make single-use takeout containers a thing of the past, one meal at a time, by offering a container reuse and return program.
Hopefully these tips will help you on your low waste, plastic-free lifestyle journey. Every sustainable swap counts!
Ardent Earth is a Canadian, zero waste, online eco store that helps conscious consumers go green with our environmentally friendly products. We offer eco-friendly alternatives that are low waste & sustainable, vegan & cruelty free, and use only safe & healthy ingredients.