Zero Waste Lunching

You might have read this in the ‘about me‘ section: I’m a student. And as a student, I usually go to school five days of the week. That’s a huge chunk of my time and so I have to eat at school too, just like any other student. We have a fairly okay kanteen at our school and a supermarket nearby, but most of that food is packaged (in plastic). That’s why I’ve been bringing my own lunch box to school since the first day I went there (my mom taught me this zero waste habit), along with my reusable water bottle. Old-fashion? Maybe. But it is a way of zero waste lunching.

Lunch Box

A lunch box is super useful in three ways. One: I take all my food from home and so I don’t produce any waste. Right now, I live with my parents, so they buy most of the groceries and I have no say. But even when they buy all the food packaged it’s still a win, because when they buy a bread in a plastic bag, that’s still less packaging than when I’d buy a single sandwich packaged every day. Anyway, once I move out this problem will be solved. Two: I save money. Because well, buying food in the kanteen every single day is expensive. I’d rather spend my money elsewhere. Three: if I bring my own food it’s easier to make healthier food choices. When I bring my own food I am not tempted to buy the fatty things they sell in the kanteen.

Tip: meal-prep like a queen! If you are excited for your lunch, life is just better. A simple sandwich with peanut-butter every single day gets boring after some time (or not! If it’s your favorite). I have some recipes for great lunch ideas, like this recipe for a vegan quinoa salad or this recipe for a vegan grilled cheese sandwich. I usually take salads, sandwiches, nuts and lots of fruits with me.

Don’t Buy New

So, the zero waste tip for today is: bring your own lunch box and start lunching zero waste! I personally am still using my old lunch box. It’s a plastic one unfortunately, but it’s better to use something up than buying something new plastic free. If you don’t have a lunch box yet, I would suggest buying one plastic secondhand, since buying new stuff has the biggest negative impact on our planet. Stainless steel is 100% recyclable and isn’t so heavy either.

Yours sincerely,
Romee