Commuting
In the Office
In the Break Room
Easy Earth Friendly Tips for the Office Break Room
Work is stressful for many people. The hours are hardly 9 to 5 and if there is time for lunch, it’s on the go. But with a little advanced planning you can Do Your Part for the environment, your health and your wallet.
Bring your lunch. Pack leftovers in reusable containers. Wrap a sandwich in a reusable wrapper, such as this "Wrap-N-Mat", which doubles as a placemat. Buy snacks in bulk and package individual servings in reusable containers. Pack whole fruit that doesn’t need additional packaging. One of these Bento Box Laptop Lunch kits makes it easy to keep it all together. Or you can toss it in an Acme thermal lunch bag. They're made out of 90% recycled materials, including recycled plastic bottles. If you bring your lunch to work, you’re more likely to eat healthily, you’ll save money, and you’ll reduce the waste that would be created by tossing frozen entrée packaging or fast food bags. Keep a stash of utensils at your desk as well. In your desk drawer, keep a microwave-safe plate, bowl and some inexpensive forks and spoons. This way when you need to heat up your lunch or grab a slice of the office birthday cake you can reach for one of your reusable utensils instead of wasting paper plates and plastic forks.
Skip the trip to the neighborhood coffee shop in the morning. You’ll save money obviously, but you’ll also save gas, and cut down on the amount of packaging created, consumed and disposed of.
When you visit the office coffee pot, bring your own mug. Instead of reaching for a new cup every time you fill up, bring your own mug to keep on your desk. The same goes for the water cooler. Bring your own cup to refill during the day. If you drink two cups of coffee and four glasses of water a day at work using your own mugs and cups, you’ll save more than 1500 cups a year.
With a little advance planning and by making a few small changes you can reduce the amount of waste you create at work. You’ll also save money and possibly eat more healthily in the process. You can find many of the products shown in the video in our Do Your Part Store.
