Eco Cheapo Leftover Kit
One of the downsides of going to conferences is that although the food is free, it’s often not the best quality (even at a conference about food!) and it is almost always served on disposable dishes. I tried to minimize my trash generation this week by reusing napkins and drinking out of a waterbottle but I was super impressed by a fellow conference attendee who brought his own little tupperware container and metal utensils to eat with. (Lunches were served buffet-style so he was able to pass up all the plastic dishes and silverware quite easily.)
It’s something I’ve thought about a lot and Will and I do make an effort to take our own leftover containers to restaurants, especially Bajio, but I’m always looking to do more. I was telling Will the other day that what I really need is a handy little kit to take with me that would include a cloth napkin, reusable silverware, and a leak-proof container (or two) for leftovers. This would also allow me to avoid using plastic silverware or paper napkins at restaurants. The biggest challenge is to make it small enough to be handy. It would also be great to keep it plastic free, although that’s rather a hard one. I’m very intrigued by the wrap-n-mat foldable sandwich holders but they are made with PVC, LDPE, or PEVA which they claim are on the FDA food-safe list but don’t sound especially safe to me.
I told him a couple weeks ago that I think there’s a market out there for someone who can create a product like this that people could carry around to restaurants. I came up with the name “Eco Cheapo Leftover Kit” but Will cringed and suggested I leave the marketing to someone else. I started thinking about names that play off “doggy bag” but it really didn’t get any less cringeworthy.
Do any of you know if there’s already a product like this out there or have aspirations to make one? I’d buy a few, and I’m sure they’d make great gifts.
Tiffany said,
November 4, 2008 @ 3:56 pm
Check out this article from treehugger: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/recycled-plastic-cutlery-cases.php. It’s for “carry your own cutlery”. I saw this awhile back and thought the idea was just nifty! Not sure about what you could take in the form of non-plastic food storage, but at least the utensils would be a start. Great idea!
Maggie said,
November 16, 2008 @ 10:21 pm
Thanks for the link! That video about making handbags out of old dirty plastic bags was fascinating. It makes me want to buy one of their cutlery kits to support all the people involved in the process even though I’m sure I could make one myself using scraps of cloth…