Landfill footprint. LMAO!
Go ahead and laugh it up, but I didn't intend it to be a joke.

Climate and environmental issues will NEVER be solved by individual action - yours, mine, or any other Moonbeam Loveearth out there.
To quote the infamous botto... "Correct"

It is large scale game theory and billion-person collusion is not possible when so many people have the same convenience over long-term effects attitude I do.
FIFY

Harsh government policy is the only thing that will work (and I'm in support of it). Until that time, whether I use paper or plastic or throw away a ziplock doesn't make a rat's-***** difference.
So you'd be in favour of having trash police enforcing fines if recycling was made mandatory by law?
You're right about one thing: The single plastic container (or even all the plastic containers you'll throw away in a lifetime) have a minimal impact on the overall scale. When you combine them with everyone else's plastic containers, aluminum cans, EPS packing molds, and all the other junk that everyone doesn't recycle because "what difference does it really make?" it becomes non-biodegradeable mountains of stuff that generations from now, people will have to deal with. But that's not your problem, is it? Just like the impact of CFCs or sub-standard storage of nuclear materials wasn't the problem of much of the generation that generated it, but we're stuck dealing with it now.

The ziplock twist n' lock containers work well, are cheap, and disposable. Use them, love them.
They work well for a little while, which is why they're cheap. Yes, they're disposable and everyone loves stuff that they can just go out and buy a 3-pack of new stuff for $3 when the old ones break... but there are more environmentally responsible choices which can be made.

A culture of people glaring meaningfully at people throwing away plastic containers and tsking meaningfully can generate the sort of collusion necesary, by creating social costs to counter the damnfool wastrel behaviour.

I would argue that's the only way to make a difference. If you wait around for a big solution to just appear you'll get it. Of course, that solution will be the end of life on earth as we know it.. but don't fret, it will definitely solve the problem.

A forest grows one tree at a time. You're gonna have a hard time finding a forest seed.

Thanks from OP
 

Wow! Thanks for all the suggestions! I make a big pot of chicken soup for lunch for the week so these suggestions will really help.

PS: The secret to good chicken soup is celery leaves!

-Original Poster

I've seen these in the Container Store:
http://www.containerstore.com/browse...3&PRODID=59736

The display model is full of colored water and is either upside down or on it's side. I'd say that's pretty leak-proof.

Yep, those are the same bottles that my company uses for many of our reagents. If we're trusting $300 of conjugated antibody being shipped internationally, I'm pretty sure you can trust it with $3 worth of soup. The only issue with those is that the mouth is kind of narrow. They're tough to fill without a funnel. Other than that, they're (almost*) leakproof and incredibly durable.

*I only say "almost" because as a mfg. engineer I see over 10,000 of these things get filled on a weekly basis and there are a few (< 0.05%) that slip past Nalgene's QA process with malformed threads/caps which leak. I'm sure The Container Store would exchange those free of cost.

+1 - and no toxic plastic if you heat it up in the microwave. Only downside is they're heavy, but the weight is worth it.

I'd pick something with a wide mouth for ease of cleaning and to allow chunky soups.
I keep a Corelle bowl at work if I need to microwave something.

+ a bunch. My wife swears by those. She drags 3-4 days worth of food with her at a time and that is her container of choice for soups, salsa, cut up fruit, whatever. Claims she has never had one leak. For soup I use a SS thermos bottle of some type. Typically one of the old massive, heavy Stanleys. I have one that is over 30 years old and still good.

Aaron:)

And they will break if struck against a solid surface. I managed to shear the bottom off of one the other day against and counter top edge with I was moving fast and didn't pay attention.

Aaron:)