Food pouches (and other single serving food products) should only be used aboard a boat in direst circumstances.
Yes they have been sold to you as the ultimate in convenience. What the marketers fail to mention is that they are also one of the most polluting products on the planet, and one of the most resource depleting as well. And aboard a boat, they fill up your very limited trash space really quickly. Imagine what they’re doing to landfills.
Trash is a far bigger issue aboard a boat than most land based people realize. If you operate as you would at home you’ll fill the boat’s trash bin in a day. And in summer weather, the trash starts to stink. The long-time method of dealing with the problem is to throw it overboard.
But the days when we could blithely pitch trash into the sea and expect the ocean to deal with it are over. Not only are there too many of us, but we can no longer pretend our trash has no effect on the oceans. You’ve probably heard about the huge garbage patches of plastic debris at sea. Do you really need to be told not to add to the problem?
On Land or at Sea, Limit Your Trash Production: Start with Refillable Food Pouches
The first way to limit your trash production is to not buy pouches, Keurig cups, or single servings of anything. But yes, it is helpful to be able to hand a whiny child a squeezable, unspillable, tasty packet of pureed fruit and go on with your work. So check out the refillable food pouches. There many types to choose from.
Get a different type or color for each child so they always know which is theirs. Fill a few each morning and pop them in the icebox. Pull one out as the need arises. Treat them as you would your child’s toothbrush – keep them clean, replace two or three times a year. You’ll cut down on an unbelievable amount of trash.
There are many styles of refillable food pouches to choose from. Here are three that I like.
Recycling Food Pouches
There are recycling programs starting up for single serving containers such as food pouches. So if you must use them, please consider taking part.
TerraCycle, the company that started by packaging their plant food in reclaimed soda and water bottles, is now a huge recycling force. Check out the many recycling options from TerraCycle, including a couple for recycling food pouches.
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