Live Green at Heart: Take-out goes green

At "The Lunchbox" in downtown Knoxville, plenty of people eat-in and take-out. Co-owner Karen Sproles and her crew keep pace with the daily lunch rush.

"We have restaurants where we are creating more than a small amount of waste. I think we can make a larger dent in what needs to be done for sustaining our environment, " said Sproles.

She made a "green" decision, which was prompted by soaring gas prices. No more petroleum-based plastic and styrofoam packaging. Now they're dishing up meals in "to go" containers made from plants.

One product is called "P-L-A". It looks like plastic, but it's made from corn rather than petroleum. Then there is bagasseware. Sproles said it takes the place of styrofoam. "It's made from the fiber that's left over after sugarcane is refined", said Sproles.

Both PLA and bagasseware are compostable. They break down in 20-80 days

"It's not going to take 800 years like styrofoam. I feel better about that, " she said.