Invest in a Wrap-N-Mat. I like this reusable sandwich wrapper - available here - which doubles as a mat for outdoor lunching (see picture). It is nothing more complicated than a pretty napkin with a wipe-clean plastic lining on one side and a Velcro fastening strap. The idea is that instead of using cling-film or silver foil, thus adding to landfill, you wrap up your sarnies, or any other lunchtime snacks. This morning, I used it to wrap up a couple of chocolate digestives (my teatime weakness) and although this meant the package was too small to be able to use the Velcro fastening, I secured the bundle with an elastic band. When it gets mucky, I can put it in the washing machine, so long as I choose a low setting of 30 or 40 degrees, which being the predictable greenie that I am, I would do anyway.

Look for natural packaging. Choose food such as bananas and avocadoes that don’t require extra packaging. And what about boiled eggs, served with a pinch of sea salt - for which you may need to use a wrap of recyled silver foil? They may have gone out of fashion, but with such green credentials, they deserve to be reinstated.

Tumblers made from recycled glass. Made by a Bangladesh based project that is supported by Tearfund, they look as though they’d survive the odd tumble that befalls anything taken on a picnic. And in winter, you can take them out of their wicker holders to use them as hand-warming glasses for mulled wine. Find them here.

Use materials you already have. Make the most of recyclable containers that are already lying around your home. Jam jars make a brilliant home for a slug of salad dressing and old takeaway containers can be used for lettuce leaves, among other things.

Here’s a biodegradable picnic set. But I’m not convinced that the greenest way to start the outdoor eating season is to invest in a new set of everything, even if it is all made from biodegradable cassava, a tropical plant which gives us the school canteen favourite, tapioca.
I’d be inclined to pinch stuff from the kitchen, such as proper cutlery from the kitchen and those plastic plates that have been lurking at the back of kitchen cupboards.