Posted on 08/28/2011 5:27:23 PM PDT by mathprof
Many retailers and schools are advocating waste-free options for back-to-school shoppers this year, especially when it comes to lunch. School lists call for Tupperware instead of Ziplocs, neoprene lunch bags instead of brown paper ones, and aluminum water bottles, not the throwaway plastic versions.
Sales of environmentally friendly back-to-school products are up just about everywhere. At the Container Store, the increase is 30 percent over last year for some items, said Mona Williams, the company’s vice president of buying. “We have seen a huge resurgence,” she said.
The trend makes the schools happy (much less garbage). It makes the stores happy (higher back-to-school spending). It even makes the students happy (green feels good).
Who’s not happy? The parents (what to do when the Tupperware runs out?).
“Ziplocs are the biggest misstep,” said Julie Corbett, a mother in Oakland, Calif., whose two girls attend a school with an eco-friendly lunch policy. In school years past, she said, many a morning came unhinged when the girls were sent to school with disposable sandwich bags.
“That’s when the kids have meltdowns, because they don’t want to be shamed at school,” Ms. Corbett said. “It’s a big deal.”
Schools have been adopting environmentally friendly policies for ecological and budget reasons, and retailers have been rushing to fill the newfound demand with store-front promotions and aggressive marketing. Staples has rows of eco-friendly lunch containers, like an Extreme flap lunchbox case with a compartment for plastic food boxes, and a Yak Pak lunch tote that looks like a purse.
Many of the schools are pushing waste-free lunches, where everything must be either compostable or reusable, in an effort to reduce garbage and the cost of hauling it away.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Why can’t the kids just drop the empty Ziplock bags into a recycling bin??? Tupperware requires wahing (either by hand using HOT water and detergent or in the dishwasher.....therefore using ENERGY). Gawd! Libtards lack COMMON SENSE!
So... You have two things to throw away afterward, and repurchase from ECOLOGIC.
And they are disguised as suntan lotion.
Funny how they don’t mention that the Canadian milk pouch idea was SCRAPPED 10 years ago, when it proved less than popular with everyone but the greenies.
I still have the little jug that the 2/3 empty bags would fall out of. I use it for fruit juices now.
They had a problem with high schoolers bringing gin, vodka and rum in water bottles.
Hahaha, we used to bring ours in oranges.
Ever notice that every issue, event or societal change rapidly degrades into just another marketing binge?
I can see Johnny now:
“Psst Dude can I score a Tupperware of Weed?”
“Ziplocs are the biggest misstep,” said Julie Corbett, a mother in Oakland, Calif., whose two girls attend a school with an eco-friendly lunch policy. In school years past, she said, many a morning came unhinged when the girls were sent to school with disposable sandwich bags.“That’s when the kids have meltdowns, because they don’t want to be shamed at school,” Ms. Corbett said. “It’s a big deal.”
Is she kidding? I fear for any male who dates either of her daughters.
Neoprene lunch bags? Aren't those a bacteria farm?
My granddaughter and grandson take their lunch everyday, they just will not eat the crap they serve at school. Everyday their lunchboxes come home with the garbage in them. What the heck are they talking about. I am sure most kids just throw that crap back in there and carry it home.
The brown paper bag was reused from a store purchase. After lunch it was folded up and brought home in our back pocket to be reused again.
The wax paper was reused to polish the steel slide during daily recess.
Kids in the local schools now have no slides. There are also no monkey bars, swings or hand powered merry-go-rounds. (TOO DANGEROUS!)
They also only get one 15-minute recess a week!
I toss my plastic water bottles and plastic grocery store lunch bags into the trash while my eco-friendly co-workers carefully put theirs in the recycle bin.
If its in tupperware, why use a bag?........
Because the tupperware gets filthy. Even if I use Dawn to wash it, it always feels greasy. So it’s either the fold over plastic bags or a bit of Saran Wrap.
RUBBERMAID makes some nice sandwich sized containers that are clear and clean really well.
http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?Prod_Id=RP091259
I just bought a Pikachu bento box for my daughter. She wants to make bento, complete with rice balls, sausage octopus and apple rabbits.
Have you ever seen “Cooking with Dog”? (the dog is the narrator)
They recoiled in horror when I brought my roasted buffalo haunch for lunch tied up in a in fresh cured hide.
Hypocrites.
Well, we had a problem with dad pulling his PB&J out of the little sandwich container (that came with his new lunch bag) and blopping jelly on his work pants, when I tried it the last time. He insists on a wrapped sandwich.
However, I’m really liking the wax paper idea.
LUCKY!!!!!!
Sounds like the problem is Dad, not the box.....;^).....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.