Posted on: Monday 19 June 2023
Waste Warriors from Woodlands Road Primary School
Primary schools are being invited to take part in a new competition organised by Torfaen Council's Catering Service to help reduce food waste.
Fourteen schools, including Woodland Primary School, in Cwmbran, have already signed up to the Waste Warriors competition, which asks pupils to devise a campaign to reduce food waste at lunchtimes.
Schools have until Friday 23 June to sign up, with entries to be received by Friday 14 July.
The school that reduces the most food waste will win a fun healthy cooking session with Cooking Together.
Councillor Mandy Owen, Executive Member for the Environment, said: “This initiative will not only help to increase the amount of food that is recycled in the borough, it will also educate children about the importance of reducing food waste both financially and environmentally.
“Also, by finding out what type of food is wasted the most in schools, the team will be able to adjust menus and the amount of food served. Meals will still be nutritionally balanced, but hopefully there will be less of it wasted.”
Each school taking part will receive a set of weighing scales so they can monitor and record the amount of plate waste in the dining hall.
The information can then be used by pupils to investigate why food is being thrown away and plan a campaign to encourage pupils to waste less food. Schools are also being offered the chance to use specially-designed selfie frames as part of their campaigns.
The competition is just one of the ways Torfaen Council's Catering Service is aiming to make school dinners more sustainable.
Since October last year, Torfaen Council's waste and recycling team has been piloting a new food waste recycling service for primary schools and secondary schools which use the council's catering team.
It is just one of a number of ways the council is increasing recycling rates to reach the Welsh Government's target of 70 per cent recycling by 2024-2025.
To get involved in the competition email louise.gillam@torfaen.gov.uk or phone 07946 341718.
Find out more about Primary school catering.