Individuals

On July 3^rd 2018 challenge yourself to have a Zero Waste Lunch!

Lunch time may just be the best part of the day, whether this is because it gives you a welcome break from work, a time to meet friends or just a time of the day to eat some delicious food, we all seem to love lunch time!

However, have you ever sat back and considered the amount of single-use plastic lunch time can consist of? Sandwiches’ wrapped in cling film, a chocolate wrapper, yoghurt pots, plastic cutlery, plastic water bottles, it sometimes seems impossible to avoid the large amounts of single-use plastic consumed in our lunch break.

It may seem like a difficult challenge but there is a huge number of eco-friendly alternatives out there and ditching single-use plastic, even just for your lunch hour has never been easier.

Why not think about doing it with your friends, sports club or family, and ditch single use plastics together.

Here’s how to do it:

The Plastic Free Challenge

Challenge yourself to have a Zero Waste Lunch!

A Zero Waste Lunch is one that uses as little single-use plastic as possible. To go Zero Plastic, you will need to think about what you have for lunch, and how it’s wrapped.

You might have to do things a bit differently. We’ve provided some tips to get you thinking about reusable containers and plastic-free alternatives!

What counts as single-use plastic?

Good question.

Count any plastic that won’t be used again, whether or not it could be recycled. This will include shrink wrap, cling film, biscuit wrappers, crisp packets, straws, yogurt pots or disposable cutlery.

Don’t count plastic tubs, pots, bottles, bags or cutlery that will be washed and reused.

To help get you started, here are some of our top tips:

Packed Lunch –

Use a reusable lunchbox and water bottle. Download the Refill app to find your nearest water refill station.
Use old bits of cloth or an eco-friendly alternative, like Beeswax Wraps to wrap your sandwiches instead of cellophane.
Bring your own reusable cups, plates and cutlery with you.
Make your own snacks instead of buying things like crisps and chocolate that come packaged in single-use plastic.
Buy items in bulk, for example buy large tubs of yoghurt and pour it into a reusable pot.
If you do have any rubbish, where possible recycle it.
Most importantly do not leave rubbish behind as litter. If you do have non-recyclable rubbish, be sure to bin it.

Buying Lunch –

Choose unpackaged products. If you need a bag, bring your own or use a recycled paper one.
Eat where you buy and ask for a reusable cup, plate and cutlery, rather than getting it to takeaway as most of this cannot be recycled as it will be contaminated with food.
If reusables are not available shop at places with eco-friendly alternatives such as, paper, bamboo/wood or biodegradable packaging/cutlery or bring your own from home.
Bring your own water bottle and fill it up with local tap water, if you are out and about use the Refill App to find your nearest Refill station.
Avoid buying multipacks, like crisps and yoghurts.
If you do have any rubbish, where possible recycle it.
Most importantly do not leave rubbish behind as litter. If you do have non-recyclable rubbish, be sure to bin it.

Social:

To join us in our first ever Plastic Free Day all you have to do is join us in having a Zero Waste Lunch on July 3rd 2018. It doesn’t matter if your Zero Waste Lunch is packed, bought or cooked, we want to see your efforts.

To give you that little extra incentive, if you share a picture of your Zero Waste Lunch with us, by tagging us on any of our social platforms you could be in with a chance of winning a Reusable Water Bottle!

So get us in those tags (see below) and for extra brownie points use the hashtags – #plasticfreeday #zerowastelunch #litterfreecoastandsea

Facebook: @LitterFreeCoastandSea

Twitter/Instagram: @litterfreecoast