Once the schools break up for summer, every parent knows this means it’s time to dust off the outdoor rug and start getting busy making sandwiches, as there’ll a lot of picnics coming their way over the next few weeks. However, picnics can often mean lots of packaging and plastic waste, which is why these tips on how to have an eco-friendly picnic will help you be more sustainable during the summer.
Bring Your Own
Instead of relying on disposable cutlery, plates, and cups, get into the habit of bringing your own. Pack your lunch into Tupperware boxes, so you can distribute lunch on to the plates when you have set up your rug.
As the National Trust says: “Let’s face it, everyone struggles to eat on a paper plate in the sea breeze anyway.”
Then when you have finished, you can take it all home, including the leftovers, and wash up without having to throw anything away.
Insulated reusable bottles
While it can be tempting to buy a nice hot coffee when out all day with the kids, resist the urge and bring your own in an insulated bottle, which can keep it warm for several hours. What’s more, they are great at keeping water cold on those hot days, and saves you from buying lots of non-recyclable plastic bottles of water.
A cold-tea infuser bottle is ideal for picnics, as it has an inbuilt tea strainer, so you can enjoy a fresh infused tea on the go.
Reusable lunchbox accessories
Packed lunches when we were younger were likely to have been full of cling film, tin foil, or food bags. However, these days things have become a lot more environmentally friendly. Instead, you can now buy reusable washable silicone zip-lock bags, so you can use them on your picnics over and over again.
Silicone food lids are also very handy, helping you store food in bowls so you don’t have to throw it away.
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