Welcome to part nineteen of our blog series on Going Green, dedicated to helping attorneys practice law in a more environmentally friendly way.  Last week we discussed what to do when you want to remodel the office.  This week we will turn our focus towards the food that you eat when you are at work.

The work day for most of us starts in the morning and ends in the evening.  This unfortunately covers a long period of time, including the time when we like to eat lunch.  And how you eat can affect how “green” you are.

Ordering in or picking up from a local place is a sure fire way to increase trash and paper waste.  When going out to eat or picking something up, it can be best to look for a place that is environmentally conscious.  There are a number of ways you can learn how and where to eat in a more environmentally conscious way.  Here is a site (http://www.dinegreen.com/customers/) to find restaurants that have been deemed “green” by the Green Restaurant Association.

Ordering in can be made more efficient if you treat lunch orders by the group instead of individually.  Large group orders save additional waste by combining things like plastic eatery, bags, and containers.  It also limits travel of those that are delivering the food.

Of course the most environmentally friendly way to eat at work is to bring it with you in a reusable container.  In an earlier post in this series we discussed using coffee mugs and water bottles that can be reused instead of thrown out.  In this case, prepare a sandwich or some leftovers and bring it to work in some Tupperware each day.  This can drop your personal waste from lunch down to zero and help make the office even more green.

Past Installments in this Series
Part One – An Introduction to Going Green
Part Two – Cut Electricity Costs, Just Flip the Switch
Part Three – Forget Paper, Go Digital
Part Four – Travel Together, Travel Less
Part Five – We Recycle
Part Six – Natural Lighting
Part Seven – Know Your Gadgets
Part Eight – Setting Goals
Part Nine – Reusable Bottles and Mugs
Part Ten - Setting Employee Incentives
Part Eleven - Green Products for You
Part Twelve – Greening Your Mail
Part Thirteen – Representing Green Clients
Part Fourteen – Incentives to Work Remotely
Part Fifteen – Greener News Alternatives
Part Sixteen – Incentives to Travel Smarter
Part Seventeen – Reduce Marketing Waste
Part Eighteen – Offset Carbon Emissions
Part Nineteen – Recycling Your Office