Have you ever wondered what your ice pack contains? Especially the ice packs that are made of soft gels and encapsulated in a plastic bag… even though the label may say that the contents are non-toxic, they are still probably not consumable. Not only that, but pretty much all of them are made of plastics and their only purpose for existing is to be a ice pack. When they tear or are broken, they can’t be recycled and must be thrown away to the landfill.
Three years ago I wrote a blog post about using one of our small stainless steel containers, filling it up with apple sauce, freezing it overnight and using it to cool your child’s lunch. While I still think it is a great idea, the container does take up some room in your lunch bag and perhaps you don’t like apple sauce (or any other “liquidy” type of food that would work for this purpose).
So while trying to find a more compact non-plastic solution, I observed that some of the plastic ice packs have a tall thin shape and feature a little lid that can’t be opened. The lid is used to fill up the ice pack with whatever secret “non-toxic” liquid it contains. So a light bulb illuminated in my head! Take a look…
Don’t they look similar? And which one is non-plastic, contains a liquid of your choice which you know for sure is NON-TOXIC, and has multiple other purposes besides cooling down your lunch?
Make your own ultra-versatile ice pack
Perhaps you have inherited an old flask from your grandfather, but if you do not already own one, we are now offering 6 oz stainless steel flasks in our online store.
We recommend you fill it to about 3/4 of its height with plain drinkable water and freeze it overnight (water expands by about 10% when frozen). You may also fill it up with a drinkable liquid of your choice, but water makes it easier to clean.
If you are sending the flask in your child’s lunch, it may be a good idea to write your child’s name on the flask with a marker (even permanent marker ink can be washed away on stainless steel) and perhaps the words “100% WATER CONTENT”, or something like that… just in case the teacher wonders…
Chantal Plamondon
Co-Owner, Life Without Plastic
15 August 2016