Plastic waste

[monkeysox]

My DS has just started taking a packed lunch. I use a box and make a sandwich to go in it.

My mind boggles at the amount of plastic waste kids must be binning each day from packed lunches.
Frubes cheese strings yogurt pots crisp packets.

So my aibu is should we enforce subsidised school lunches to minimise plastic wastage. Obv not selling pre packed sandwiches etc in school as that would defeat the object.
Lunches cooked in school and served on plates that can be washed?
Water from hugs and washable cups.

While I think that subsided school lunches are a good idea, I can’t help but think that this is an odd question from someone who’s sending their DC into school with a pack lunch.

Or is yours ok because you’re avoiding plastic wrapped items as much as possible?

I don’t trust the school to feed my children appropriately, I’m afraid. I volunteer and a couple of times popped in while they were serving lunch. On several separate occasions they served my five year old meat and swore blind that it was the vegetarian option. It wasn’t, I know a piece of beef when I see it and smell it! Packed lunches all the way.

School have dished out meat and fish to my vegetarian DC. Luckily they were old enough to recognise what they’d been given and not eat it. No more school meals for us.

I agree, the plastic waste must be huge, but the kids should be encouraged to recycle everything possible. I don’t think the answer is school meals.

These are different issues. I would encourage the school to educate the children in a fun way about reducing the plastic waste in their lunches and consider running a workshop for families.

There ar lots of reasons that many families don’t want to have school meals- the quantity and quality being just one.

So unfortunately YABU although your heart is in the right place.

You can make your own yogurt easily enough, the answer isn’t forcing crappy school meals, it’s being mindful if you have a packed lunch. I’m sure plenty of school lunch food arrives in much packaging

There’s nothing stopping YOU from going plastic free for lunches.
Bento box style lunchboxes make it easy to put in cut up fruit, sandwiches, cubes of cheese, popcorn, decanted yoghurt.

Our school and kindergarten both have Plastic Free Lunchbox policies so packed lunches without plastic is the norm for my family (New Zealand).

But aren't you just assuming that all of the other parents are giving their dc a load of plastic stuff? You're not why do you think they are?? Why isn't your d's having school dinners, does the school not do them?

Make your lunchbox plastic free, then. No need to force all children into school lunches.

They should give our points for the kids and classes with the least plastic each week.

I also think a plastic free lunchbox policy would be much better and will also set the kids up better for the future (so packing their own lunch for work rather than buying meal deals etc)

They should give our points for the kids and classes with the least plastic each week.

Why reward (or not) the kids for things over which they have no control? You’re basically shaming parents through their children. The parents do the shopping and decide what goes in the lunchbox. There’s nothing kids can do about it. Sometimes parents are pushed for time and grab pre-packaged things to put into lunchboxes. Why shame their kids?

I think we should force supermarkets to cut back on plastic packaging rather than forcing parents to do so.

Packed lunch for 3 here. We use a sectioned tupperware box not foil or cling film. Bread or rolls are bought loose not pre wrapped (I take my own reusable bags). Snacks are not bought as single wrapped (family bag crisps or crackers split up, cheese cubes from a big block, pack of biscuits portioned) fruit gets bought loose or in bulk where possible. Eg fruit cocktail tubs / cut up fruit portions are unecessary plastic. Drinks are water or squash in reusable bottles. Lots of school dinner's are pre packed and shipped in so are just if not more wasteful. I also like to know what dc are eating each day.

I'm conscious of this. My children's lunch boxes are filled with yoghurt lollies, cheese strings and other small convenience items wrapped in plastic.

But I do lots of other things to reduce my plastic consumption and have done for years.

Focussing on my children's lunch boxes isn't the answer.

Lovely idea, OP and I second it, although it'll be an uphill struggle to do that on shoestring budgets, either parent's or school's.

To those that say it's about parent's responsibility, supermarkets or who's ever, we are ALL stuck on this planet and we are ALL responsible for the waste that gets behind. If you disagree, I suggest watching "war on plastics" and Attenborough's documentary. As for not shaming the kids, what good will that do if they are left with nothing but toxic wastelands once they grow up?

He's having packed lunch as was still hungry having school lunch.
He tells me what his friends have.
I'd rather he had school lunch as its less hassle for me.