Plastic Reduction Challenge Day 75: Rethink Food Pouches

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Since squeeze pouches came along we have entered the ultra-convenient baby food era. Just twist open the cap, stick end in baby’s mouth, watch baby suck down the contents in about 2.3 seconds, and toss. You may be wondering what the big deal is. Well, not just infants are gobbling up these pouches, which is leading to a lot of waste and poor food habits. These pouches are a combination of foil and plastic and are extremely difficult to recycle. In 2018 alone, 80 billion food and drink pouches were thrown away in the United States (this includes drinks like Capri Sun). That means that we are consuming these at a rate of 244 pouches per person per year! Kids don’t know what real food is anymore. The pureed vegetables, meat, and grains are mixed with fruits as a sweetener and that conditions your baby to want this sweet food all of the time. It is also much easier to consume two or three pureed pouches in one sitting rather than the equivalent whole foods of 2 bananas, 2 apples, half a cup of broccoli, a carrot, some barley, turkey, and butternut squash.

I admit, that I fed my first two kids an abundance of food pouches. By the time I got to my third, my sister suggested baby-led weaning and I used this in combination with single ingredient baby purees that I made myself or bought in a glass jar. Did I give up pouches all together? No way! They are super easy for traveling or when you are in a pinch with a hangry child. You need some convenience to keep your sanity, but I do believe it is worth it to try the alternatives.

Today’s Challenge: Reduce your use of food pouches. This includes baby food, applesauce squeezes, and juice drinks. If you rely heavily on these right now, start by putting a cap on the number you give your child each day. Focus on giving whole foods, formula, or breastmilk the rest of the time. Here are other options to reduce the use of food pouches:

Look for pureed foods in glass jars. There are still a few brands out there that make these, including, Earth’s Best.
Make your own purees. This sounds harder than it is, and I found that by making batches and freezing in ice cube trays, you can have an easy pre-made option in just a few minutes. Homemade food is also your best bet for letting your baby taste a single ingredient at a time, instead of a mix. Almost all baby food purees on the market are mixed with apples, pears, bananas, mangos, or sweet potatoes. I believe that it is important children to taste each food on its own, rather than mixed with a sweetener. You can also get a food mill and mash up your supper to make it easier for baby to eat.
Try baby-led weaning
For older kids, consider a reusable pouch that you fill with applesauce from a jar, like these silicone squeezers. They are expensive, but easy to use and clean.
If you can’t get away from using food and juice pouches, use Terracycle to recycle those that you do amass. When I started collecting pouches to send in, it really hit home how many I was using and caused me to cut back drastically. Also, at that time I had to pay for a zero waste box in order to recycle them. Now, there are several companies that have partnered with Terracyle for free brigades. No matter how hard I try, my kids still bring these pouches home from baseball games, shared by friends at school, snacks for other events, and as a side for a kids meal at fast food restaurants. That’s why I’m currently signed up for the GoGo squeeZ program. They will accept any brand pouches for recycling. As far as I can tell, other programs will only accept their own specific brand.