Five products to nip ‘on the go’ food and drink waste in the bud

Although grabbing a sandwich, bottle of water or coffee to go can be convenient, it ends up producing a whole load of waste. Everyone knows that planning ahead saves you money, and with just a little more effort you can cut down on how much rubbish you produce too. Here are five products that I use that can help you towards that…

1) EarthLust stainless steel water bottle | £12.50-£18.00

It may be sad to admit, but my EarthLust bottle is one of my most treasured possessions- it comes everywhere with me and I feel utterly lost without it. Having owned the 13oz (380ml) bottle for a few years, I stumbled across the 16oz (600ml) at a carboot sale, which is the one that comes to work with me everyday. The former still gets plenty of use as it fits perfectly into my smaller handbag and its the one I’ll opt for if I’ve no handbag at all. As a result, I haven’t used a plastic water bottle in years.

The bottles come with a screw cap with a handy carabineer and you can purchase a sports cap if you prefer. I feel that stainless steel bottles like these are more hygienic than reusable plastic bottles, and easier to transport than glass ones, but at the end of the day any reusable bottle is better than a disposable one.

I got my 13oz bottle from Ethical Superstore but they don’t currently have them in stock. Try Green Tulip or Amazon instead. The bottles come in 380ml (13oz), 600ml (16oz) and 1l (20z) sizes. Klean Canteen are another great brand of stainless steel bottles – you can find out where they sell them in the UK here.

2) Natural Collection Select recycled lunch bag | £4.95

These cute little lunch bags come in a variety of designs and keep your food compact and insulated. They’re not a necessity, but I personally prefer my lunch kept together in one accessible bag as opposed to it sitting in the bottom of my handbag or in a sweaty plastic one. It’s also super easy to clean and flexible too, meaning you can fit a substantial amount in and then fold it up when it’s empty. There are plenty of reusable lunch bags on the market, but I liked this one as it has the added eco-benefit of being made from recycled materials.

Mine’s from Ethical Superstore. 

3) Keepleaf reusable sandwich and food wrap | £7.00

If you regularly eat sandwiches, rolls, wraps or bagels on-the-go, this nifty little lunchtime product is a no-brainer. Keepleaf houses your lunch, keeping it fresh, and when fully open acts as a mat so you can catch your crumbs. No more wasteful and, frankly, annoying clingfilm and foil, and in the process saving yourself a few pennies. Like the lunchbag, they come in a variety of great designs and are very easy to clean – all you need to do is give it a wipe over or pop it in the washing machine.

I bought my Keepleaf wrap from Ethical Superstore (there’s a trend here!)

4) Ecoffee cup | £7.99-£9.00

Everyone loves a good takeaway tea or coffee, but the resulting impact in the UK is that only 1 in 400 cups are recycled. The best way to combat this is to get yourself a reusable coffee cup that you can use time and time again, like this one from ecoffee. It’s an absolute godsend if you’re a commuter like me, and perfect for those mid-day slumps when you need to pop to the coffee shop for a boost. Don’t be afraid to ask in any chain or your local coffee shop for them to make your drink in it- I’ve never been turned away from using mine. Having used ceramic takeaway cups in the past, I most definitely prefer this one as it holds more drink and as it’s made of bamboo it’s as light as a feather. As with most items on this list, be prepared to carry it around with you when you’re not drinking from it – although a colleague of mine was telling me about a collapsable version so watch this space!

This was bought for me by a friend, but you can buy straight from ecocoffee or find them in some independent coffee shops, and I’m pretty sure I saw them for sale in Oxfam too.

5) Stainless steel straws | various prices

My colleagues had a good laugh when I revealed I carry stainless steel straws around with me for drinking out. Of course the most environmentally friendly option is to forego the straw altogether, but if like me you enjoy the occasional cocktail or mixer, they make drinking much easier and apparently it’s better for your teeth too. I tend to constantly have one on me at all times (for those spontaneous trips to the pub) but one of the hardest things to remember is to ask for your drink without a plastic one. I’d recommend buying a pipe cleaner, which sometimes come included when you purchase the straws, as it allows you to clean them thoroughly and have them fresh for their next use- especially if you use them for thick drinks like smoothies and milkshakes.

I got mine from Amazon, but plenty of online eco stores sell them too- just Google!

So there we are, my five waste free food and drink products. Do you use any of these products, or maybe you didn’t know some of them even existed? Are there any other that you use and would recommend? Let me know on the comments below or tweet me @alyssayswhat