Taking a packed lunch with you to work is a great way to eat what you want (rather than eating from your work cafeteria), and save money too. Have you considered how eco-friendly you can make your families lunch boxes? Many lunch bags contain lots of paper and plastic waste that can end up in landfills. For the eco-conscious lunch eaters, there are several inexpensive and easy ways you can pack an eco-friendly lunch from home.

Cut the Waste - Ensure that what’s going in to the lunch box will actually be eaten. Easy to do for yourself, but if it’s a lunch box for your child, providing them with a nutritious and varied lunch will ensure that not too much food is brought back home after school. You can also get your child involved in the planning and shopping of their lunch; teach them what makes a healthy lunch, and give them a choice for what to eat.

Reusable Utensils - Our Bamboo Travel Cutlery Set lets you clip and carry a fork, knife, spoon and chopsticks wherever they may roam. Perfect for taking to work with you, and each utensil set keeps one plastic bottle out of landfill and our oceans. Each set is heat and stain resistant, and won't impart or absorb flavours. They are lightweight, strong and long lasting, perfect for busy lunchboxes.

Avoid Individual Wrapping and Plastic - Individually wrapped items may seem convenient at the time, but they also create a lot of unnecessary waste for landfills. To prevent this, wrap food in reusable wraps, containers or bags. Doing it the night before also saves time as you're rushing around in the morning.

Use a Thermos - If you have some great leftovers from last night’s dinner, using an insulated thermal container is a great way to reuse your food and have an eco-friendly lunch. It will keep the heat of your item until it is time to eat it at lunch time, as well as keeping colder items fresh and chilled too.

Eat Organic - Prevent nasty chemicals in your food and support organic farming, by choosing to eat organic for your lunch box. If you know what to buy and where to buy it, you can definitely save money when buying organically too, which is a bonus. Check out our earlier blog post '9 Ways to Save Money when buying Organic Food', for some great tips for your lunch box.

Make fresh - A great way to avoid buying pre-packaged lunch items, is to make a lot of your lunch contents from scratch. Make a fresh salad, mix up a pasta dish, use leftovers from last night’s dinner; all great ways to avoid using plastic packaging that's going to be thrown away.

Do you go ‘green’ when you take a packed lunch to work? What other tips do you have for being eco-friendly at lunch time? Share them in the comment box below!