Pack It Up The #1 best way that you can green your lunch is to pack it. Instead of using plastic or paper bags, you should choose a reusable lunch box. Why? According to the EPA, children who bring a bag lunch to school every day create about 67 pounds of waste by the end of the year! If you can imagine how many children are in school and how many people work every day, that’s millions of pounds of brown bag waste. Here are a few reusable lunch boxes that are great alternatives to bags: TerraCycle Drink Pouch Lunch Box, ACME Cotton Recycled Lunch Bag, Vy & Elle Lunch Bag, Mini Bento Stainless Steel Lunch Jar.