Who doesn't want to avoid cooking once in a while? Stopping at the corner deli during lunch, or reaching for the phone after work may seem like an easy way to avoid ending up to your elbows in dirty dishes, but the containers that food comes in can't be washed and put back on your shelf like your pots and pans can.
All of that plastic and Styrofoam adds up quickly, and containers and packaging make up more than 30 percent of all trash thrown in landfills, according to the most recent EPA Municipal Solid Waste data. And, although many cities are passing laws that require restaurants to discontinue use of Styrofoam products, one of the biggest landfill offenders, a large majority of businesses have not stopped yet.
So, what to do about all of this waste? The best thing we can do is take matters into our own hands and develop creative ways to reduce our use of take out containers. Brewing coffee at home and pouring it into in a stainless steel mug is a great way to eliminate all of those to-go cups. Another good tip is to plan ahead and grocery shop only once or twice a week, using canvas or other earth-friendly bags when you do so. If you prepare your lunch at home and bring it to work in glass tupperware and eat it using real utensils brought from home, you'll find your trashcan to be a lot more empty at the end of the day. And your eco-conscious behavior may influence others to do the same!
To track how your take out choices affect the planet, the Global Footprint Network has a Personal Footprint calculator that is a fun and interactive way to measure your ecological footprint and find out your biggest areas of resource consumption. The calculator expresses the amount of resources an individual uses in the number of planets it takes to support your lifestyle.
In order to make a dent in our footprint in the long-run, we definitely need to start thinking “outside of the take-out box.”
