I’ve packed my fair share of school lunches. During the month of September, my daughter took a well-balanced (and very organized) stainless steel Bento Box complete with a silicone seal closure.  By October, I got lazy and stopped the daily cleaning and started shoving the sandwich into a ZipLoc bag before throwing it in a zippered lunch bag. When the guilt kicked in, I compromised and bought 100% compostable sandwich bags.

I paid $5.99 for 50 compostable bags, even though 90 Ziploc bags cost $3.79 because it is a worthy investment. My daughter’s science teacher even noticed the bag and commented on it.

There was one problem; I could not open the bag without ripping it. After a week long battle, I switched to the easier-to-open bags.

Despite the rant, I’m not here to trash talk compostable materials. Advances in flexible film, like compostable and recycle-ready are crucial.

That said, we went back to using the compostable sandwich bags.

The reason? My eco-native, Gen Z daughter started making her own lunch, and she can open those compostable bags without a fight.

Now, that’s a win-win.

Reader, what are some sustainable materials that make you hopeful about the future?

Let me know.

Kristin Joker, Editor in Chief
(248) 227-4727
jokerk@bnpmedia.com