Easy Green: No Plastic Baggies

This one is easy…but not as easy as it should be.  I use wax paper baggies for my sandwiches when I brown bag it.  They may seem odd to some, but it’s kind of a throwback to the Leave It To Beaver era.  I like them because they’re bigger than a standard baggie - so they fit my fatty sandwich in there easily.  The other benefits are obvious.  You’re not using disposable plastic and the paper is recyclable. 

Now comes the part about how it’s not as easy as it should be.  I’ve checked two of my regular grocery stores with no luck finding these.  The only place that I’ve seen them is at Whole Foods and I don’t live anywhere close to one.  I’m not sure if Trader Joe’s sells them or not.  So I walked down the entire aisle - twice - looking for these.  All I saw was a wall of plastic baggies.  It was evidence of our disposable society.  Maybe if they were made from corn-based plastic - but they’re not - just a bunch of oil.

Before I get flamed for bashing disposable products and then telling people to use disposable wax paper bags, I must say that I am not perfect (yes, I am admitting it - shhh - don’t tell anyone).  I am still using a disposable product.  At least I can recycle this one or compost it.  Sure they’re better, but wax baggies aren’t perfect.

If you’re better than I - like my daughter - you can buy a Wrap-N-Mat.  These are great for kids - great for anyone, really.  They’re exactly what they sound like - a sandwich wrap that when you open it becomes a placemat.  We bought ours at Reusablebags.com and I recommend you do the same.  I really like them and their customer service.  I know you all like videos - so don’t fret - here’s Wrap-N-Mat being showcased on NBC.

Now if you’re like my friend Amy and Karen, then you’ll want to go with the Wonder Bread case.  Yeah - its plastic, but it’s retro.  I’m not sure where to buy one, though. 

How about a bento box?  These are cool Japanese lunchboxes.  All with separate little cases for each little lunch portion.  The popular ones are Laptop Lunches.  There is a new one that I’d love to try called Lunchopolis from ironically enough Lunchopolis.com.  They’re made from a polycarbonate.  The tagline reads “help eliminate 3.5 billion pounds of lunchbox garbage generated each year.”  Think about that.  3.5billion pounds.  Think about that next time you’re at a fast-food joint and you’re throwing away your garbage.