Whether you’re busy with school, work, kids or all of the above, packing a lunch for the day can be wasteful because of excess packaging. The average person creates around 4.5 pounds of waste daily, so cut down on your prepped meal wastes with these tips.

Ditch paper bags

Carry your food in a reusable lunchbox like the ECOlunchbox made from 100 percent organic cotton or stainless steel. ECOlunchbox has already divertedtens of millions of pieces of trash from the garbage.

Cut out plastic

If you pack a variety of snacks, swap out plastic zip bags and use stainless steel containers instead. Stainless steel is recyclable and is made from around 70 percent recycled metal scraps.

Wrap your snacks

If you want to pack your snacks in something less bulky, consider using beeswax paper. Beeswax paper is made from organic cotton, beeswax and jojoba oil and can be washed, reused and composted.

Pack your own cutlery

Single-use plastic like forks, spoons and straws contribute to the 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic waste on our planet. Pack a personal utensil set in your lunch bag and reuse it for every meal.

Save your scraps

If you end up with scraps from your lunch, don’t throw them away. Instead, save them in a stainless steel container and compost them when you get home.