It’s Back to School Lunch Time!  Please Ditch the Ziplocs.

It’s that time again!  Back to school!  Which means, of course, back-to-school lunches and snacks.  It’s important to me to send the kids to school with a healthy lunch, and it’s equally important to me that their lunches and snacks don’t create any waste.  Every time I go to pick up my kids after school, I see an errant Ziploc bag making its way with the wind across the playground.  And every time, it pains me. Ziplocs (all plastics) are bad for us, and even worse for the environment.  For every single purpose for which you’re currently using a Ziploc, there is a better (more sustainable, healthier) option.  Our household is Ziploc-free, and we don’t miss them one bit.  There’s a better way, I promise. 

Are Ziplocs Really That Bad?

Yes.  Really, this conversation is about all plastics bags and plastics in general, not just Ziplocs. 

Plastic bags take 1,000 years to degrade in a landfill, which means that the first plastic bag, which was made in the 1960s, still has about 940 years left before it fully degrades.  Yikes.  And even when they degrade, they don’t disappear.  Over the course of their life, they turn into microplastics that pollute our land and oceans.  And if you think that you can just recycle them, think again.  Only about 9% of plastics sent to recycling are actually being recycled (that is so depressing), so claims by manufacturers about using recycled plastics are often a form of greenwashing (claiming to be greener than in reality).  Check out this article by the Plastic Pollution Coalition for more detail.

What’s happening to the plastics that aren’t recycled?  They end up predominantly in our oceans.  According to Conservation.org, the devastating reality is our oceans will soon be more plastic than marine life:

“Up to 12 million metric tons: That’s how much plastic we dump into the oceans each year.  That’s about 26 billion pounds — or the equivalent of more than 100,000 blue whales — every single year. By 2050, ocean plastic will outweigh all of the ocean’s fish.”

And if this isn’t depressing enough, plastics are seriously affecting human health.  Microplastics from food packaging leach into our food (especially when they are heated – think plastic baggy left outside in a lunch box) and contribute to adverse health outcomes, including hormone dysregulation, impaired immune health, and an increased risk of chronic disease.  You’re right if you’re thinking, “Eating food from a plastic bag occasionally won’t kill me.”  No, that alone probably won’t.  But people fail to appreciate the sheer amount of toxic exposure we experience every day, much of which is out of our control.  According to Medical News Today, “an average person in the United States may consume over 50,000 particles of microplastics from food alone per year,” a figure that increases to 90,000 for those who still drink from plastic water bottles regularly (you guys, there is no excuse for regularly drinking from plastic water bottles anymore).  And this is in addition to exposure from air pollution, water contamination, and the crazy amount of chemicals in processed foods.  So I don’t know about you, but I certainly want to take action wherever I actually do have control to limit the toxins to which my family and I are exposed. 

Better-Than-Plastic Food Storage Solutions

There is a better alternative for basically every plastic you currently use.  Below are some food-storage products I use that are awesome and easy to clean:

1.         To Replace Ziploc Bags – Sandwich and snack bags by Stasher.  I’ve tried several brands, and these are my favorite.  They stay closed, are easy for little fingers to open, and all you have to do to clean them is rinse with soap and water and let dry.  And of course you can use them for non-food storage too!

 Alternatively, I also like BioBag food storage bags.  I use them for snacks, storage in the fridge, and also for non-food storage.  They’re less reusable than Stasher bags, because they’re thinner and a bit more delicate, but they’re a less bulky option for when that’s an issue.  And I don’t feel terrible disposing of them, because they’re compostable, so I can throw them right into our composter.

2.         To Replace Plastic Lunch Boxes – Stainless steel bento boxes.  There are so many brands out there, but I like the variety offered by Ecolunchbox.  They have multi-layered styles, little dip containers, leak proof options, and even camping gear.

3.         Freezer/Refrigerator storage – Russbe Reusable Freezer Bags.  These gallon-size bags are BPA free, freezer safe, dishwasher safe, and recyclable.  I use these all the time and love them. I use them not only for storing food in the freezer, but any time I need to use a gallon-sized bag.  I bought one box years ago and am still reusing the same bags today.

4.         Mesh Produce Bags – Again, there are so many choices out there (which is great!), but here’s one option by Ecowaare.  I bring my bundle of produce bags with me to the store and have no need for the plastic bags.  Once a month or so I throw them in the laundry and they’re good as new.  Easy peasy.

And, much to my shock and dismay, there are some grocery stores that only offer plastic bags at checkout.  We should always bring our own.  There are a million choices here, and I personally have an eclectic mix I’ve accumulated over the years, but if I were to start fresh, I’d probably go with something like these VENO bags, which have a hard bottom and stay upright, as well as some insulated cool bags like the ones on offer from BeeGreen.

5.         Bee’s Wrap – Instead of wrapping your sandwiches, cheeses, or other leftovers in plastic wrap, or covering a bowl with plastic or aluminum, consider using bee’s wrap, which is a reusable wrap made from beeswax.  Not only is it super useful, but I love that they come in the most beautiful patterns.  No shame in wanting a pretty fridge.  You can get sheets of all different sizes, or they also come made specifically for sandwiches, and in rolls like plastic wrap, so you can customize.

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There are so many ways we can reduce our personal use of plastic.  Check out my prior post, Five Simple Ways We Can Stop Using Single-Use Plastics That Will Make Mother Earth Happy and Our Homes Healthier, for some additional ideas, like zero-waste laundry options (laundry sheets are the way to go!).

I think the biggest thing we can do in general is to ditch the attitude of “what I do won’t make a difference.”  If everyone ditched that attitude, just imagine the impact we could have, both on human health and the health of our environment.  Mother Nature has gifted us with her resources.  It is the very least we can do to treat them with respect. 

The beautiful idea of leaving the world a better place than we found it dates back to Ralph Waldo Emerson.  As he said:

“To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived — that is to have succeeded.”

Amen.  Do that.