Sustainable Living and the Tupperware Connection

Alrighty so all ye sustainable living folks, there have been some recent commercials lately about the wonders of Tupperware: how they can preserve your food and in turn save you a bundle in terms of what you would have had to throw out. While the dialogue may not have been directly geared toward environmental awareness, the same information can be spelled out in that these magic little kitchen storage containers will be helping you to reduce the amount of waste you generate on a weekly basis. It is a fact that tremendous amounts of food are left to rot in landfills (this is one of the biggest faults of the restaurant industry) but is there really something to be said for throwing a Tupperware party in favor of sustainable living?

You don’t have to crack out the guest list and become one of ‘those’ friends that everyone shirks away from or screens your calls in fear that they may be roped into one of your next little events, but there are some tips you can take from the home convenience brand. For those of us that may not be hip to all that has come out from this company as of late there are more than just food storage units, but mugs, glasses, food slicers, dicers, and much more. They have also cleaned up their production habits to be more green with the implementation of more efficient light systems and replacing some toxic chemicals used in the past.

In getting back to sustainable living at home it was estimated that annually the United States sent 2 million tons of plastic wrap into landfills along with 360,000 tons of aluminum foil. It also turns out that many people still need to take a hint and ditch their plastic bags because there were still 1.5 tons of plastic bags left to waste away. A few tips to reduce that amount is to use reusable food containers, like Tupperware, where you could not only prolong the shelf life of your foods but also wash and then recycle those units instead of dumping foil and plastic into the trash can. Further, by using these containers to save leftovers you could not only spare yourself some time in the dinner routine but they are microwave safe and should you nuke that meal in the microwave instead of the oven you’d be reducing the amount of energy used by 50 percent.

You can also take your sustainable living on the go; instead of filling up that cup of joe in a one time use Styrofoam cup opt for a reusable mug. Tupperware has models that are great for travel but so do other brands, so you don’t have to play favorites so long as you aren’t creating more waste each and every coffee run. Finally, in getting back to food waste alone, nearly 10 percent of the fruits and vegetables that Americans purchase go into the trash because they have spoiled and are then inedible. There are sustainable living alternatives such as Tupperware fridge units that have been designed just for such items and will be able to keep them fresh much longer and then allow them to end up in your belly instead of the landfill.

Photo credit: Master Wit