Social media posts have claimed that the UK government has said school children must take their packed lunch in disposable carrier bags, instead of a lunch box.

While this is not government guidance, certain schools have said that this is required when classes resume in September due to the coronavirus.

Posts sharing the claim can be seen ( here , here , here , here , here ).

“So the government have said children in the UK have to take their packed lunch to school in a disposable Carrier bag, which needs disposing of at the end of every single day”, one post reads (here).

The UK Department of Education told Reuters that this is incorrect and that current guidelines say that pupils can bring lunch boxes into school.

“It is still recommended that pupils limit the amount of equipment they bring into school each day, to essentials such as lunch boxes, hats, coats, books, stationery and mobile phones”, the guidelines say (here).

Despite this, it is true that some schools have said that lunch should be packed in a disposable bag rather than a lunch box, but this is not a rule set by the government ( here , here , here ).

False. Certain schools have said that children need to bring lunches in disposable carrier bags, however this is not government guidance.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact checking work here .

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