Your guide to a waste-free picnic season

by Kristen Larocque, GreenUP Store Coordinator

It’s summertime and the livin’ is easy! Beachside picnics and road trips may be on the horizon for your family this season. Have you ever noticed how food just tastes better outside? When I was a child, the highlight of summertime ventures often included the fun meals and snacks enjoyed in the great outdoors.

When looking for ways to make picnic packing more efficient, we can also strive to reduce our waste and minimize our reliance on single use disposables.

When preparing for your family outing, instead of planning to stop for fast food, try to anticipate most of your family’s needs and pack food, beverages, and other picnic necessities in advance.

Take the time to plan and prepare for your outing by anticipating your en route food and drink needs. It’s a great idea to fill your water bottle, and maybe even a spare one, for each member of your family.

If your family is a fan of juice boxes, you can substitute them with a refillable version offered at the GreenUP Store. To cut down on sugar, try making some homebrewed fruit infused water; simply add berries or cucumber to your water bottle. A quick Google search will bring up some great recipes too, which will make for a special drink without the unnecessary sugar or packaging.

If you’re planning for a road trip, consider packing your cooler with a little more food than you think you need, just in case. Ultimately, the needs that you don’t anticipate may lead to unnecessary purchases, such as a bottled beverage, which means yet another item will go to landfill.

Items packed for single servings, such as granola bars, may seem convenient but their wrapper is not recyclable and will end up in the landfill. Consider baking your own nutrient-rich alternative. If you bake large batches you can freeze the extras and thaw bars as needed. This is a great way to save time and money.

In addition, there are hundreds of blog posts and online articles

that feature picnic ideas. One of my favourite picnic menu items is fresh fruit or vegetable skewers.

The GreenUP Store carries a wide variety of alternatives to make your picnic packing easy. Consider replacing plastic zip bags with reusable fabric snack bags made in Canada, by Colibri. These fun patterned bags offer the element of surprise and the novelty of opening a package. They are reusable, easy to wipe out at the end of the day, and can be tossed in the washing machine when they need a deeper clean.

Plastic wrap can also be replaced with a reusable alternative; beeswax food wraps are reusable, washable, and compostable after a year of regular use. This is also a great option if packing light is at the top of your priority list.

If you are headed to the beach and have plenty of carrying capacity, a basket or cooler loaded with stainless steel containers full of delicious eats can easily meet your family’s meal and snack needs. Reusable stainless steel containers, thermoses, and water bottles are hard wearing, long lasting, light, and free of BPA and other harmful toxins.

If you have to purchase meals en route, you can try to select an option with less packaging. For example, choosing a burrito wrapped in paper is a more environmentally friendly option than a full sized meal packed in a Styrofoam take out container, which is not recyclable in the City of Peterborough, as of 2016.

Another option when, for example, visiting a roadside food truck, is to bring your own container and ask if your takeout food can be put in your reusable alternative. And, when it comes to ice cream, choose a cone, which is a waste free and edible alternative to the bowl and spoon option.

Rather than using disposable paper plates and plastic utensils, bring along some reusable stainless steel plates and cups, along with a bamboo utensil set. Consider keeping a set of utensils and a cloth napkin in your car or purse, ready for when you need it. The GreenUP Stores carries these kinds of products in addition to the ever popular stainless steel straws! You can buy them in bulk without the packaging, or in packs of four with a cleaning brush.

Summer outings, complete with picnic or road-tripping snacks, offer an opportunity for parents to instil healthy eating habits and foster environmental responsibility in their children.

The GreenUP Store offers a variety of tools to help you create a convenient, nutritious, and fun picnic. We carry many reusable stainless steel container options in many sizes including Planet Box, and many other brands that feature easy-to-open lids, silicone seals, and insulated double-walls for keeping meals warm or cold. We have reusable bottles, drinking boxes, lunch bags and totes, fabric snack bags, and more!

For more information visit our website at www.greenup.on.ca/greenup-store. Please visit us at the GreenUP Store at 378 Aylmer St. in downtown Peterborough or give us a call at 705-745-3238 ext. 222 or email kristen.larocque@greenup.on.ca with your zero-waste picnic questions.