RE: [greenyes] waste-free lunches

["Ruszkai, Steve" <ruszkai@no.address>]

Ms. Hemmert,

I looked at your website.  This is a start to do less bad for the
environment, but I don't think you approach is the "best" we can do.  We can
do better....

William McDonough and Michael Bruangart wrote "Cradle to Cradle" where they
developed in S.E. Asia food containers made of bio-degadable rice products
for train commuters who litter during their lunch ride.  They also embedded
native  seeds in the containers.  Now, they actually encourage people to
litter their lunch to enrich the environment--turning waste into food for
others.  This is doing during "good" for the environment, not just "less
bad" as the approach you describe in the program below.  

Don't think recyclable--think upcyclable.  Keep it out of the landfill for
good.  Read the book (which, by the way, has no wood products in it and it
total upcyclable--not downcycleable which just slows it's way to the
landfills. 

Think doing good for the environment--not less bad.  Waste is food.  Keep
technological products separable from biological products and upcycle both
back to the manufacturer and the earth respectfully.  No more monstrous
hybrids like those plastic resin lunch containers which can't be upcycled.
Use biological containers like products out of paper, corn and rice.

This is the only eco-effective way for our future generations of school
lunch-eaters to not just sustain but to improve our environment.  

Steve

-----Original Message-----
From: Amy Hemmert [mailto:mhemmert@no.address]
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2003 5:19 PM
To: greenyes@no.address
Subject: [greenyes] waste-free lunches


I have been collecting information about waste-free lunches and have posted
it at www.wastefreelunches.org for people interested in learning more about
how to implement or participate in a waste-free lunch program. We have
included sample letters to parents and teachers, information on conducting
trash audits, examples of salvaged/recycled art projects, composting basics,
where to purchase waste-free lunch kits, success stories from across North
America, and links to other waste-free lunch sites.

If you are involved in a waste-free lunch program and have a success story
to share, or if you have a site that you think we should link to, please
email the information to me at webmaster@no.address

Thanks for helping us make a difference!

Amy Hemmert
Santa Cruz, CA