For some, the concept of sorting and weighing lunch waste might seem like a sticky, smelly nuisance.
Not so for the 200,000 Ontario elementary students who participated in the Recycling Council of Ontario's 2011 Waste-Free Lunch Challenge. These students have embraced environmentalism wholeheartedly and proven that waste minimization is as easy as reduce, reuse, recycle!
During Waste Reduction Week in Canada (October 17 to 23, 2011), nearly 800 schools from 62 different school boards across the province participated in the Annual Waste-Free Lunch Challenge.
During the week, participating schools were able to prevent and divert 25 tonnes of lunch material from entering the landfill -- that is roughly the weight of two school buses!
"Students have passionately committed to going waste-free," says Jo-Anne St. Godard, executive director of the Recycling Council of Ontario. "Their results are incredible! Many schools were successfully able to measure individual students' lunch waste to under 10 grams -- that is roughly the weight of two nickels! The students have clearly demonstrated how simple changes make all the difference."
Designed to help schools reduce the amount of garbage they generate from lunches, the Waste-Free Lunch Challenge educates students, staff and parents about waste and its impacts.
Students were taught how to pack waste-free lunches that use reusable, refillable and recyclable containers. Schools sorted, weighed and recorded their lunchtime waste generation throughout the week -- and the lightest schools won!
Thirty schools were recognized as the most successful in reducing the amount of waste generated and will each receive a grand prize donated by Metro Ontario Inc. and Tetra Pak Canada, the program's two corporate partners.
Grand prize winners will receive educational experiences for their students or $1000 environmental grants for use in school-based environmental projects.
"We are honoured to partner with RCO & Metro and proactively support a program that raises students' and schools' awareness about the key role they play in reducing waste in landfills," says Elisabeth Comere, director of environment and government affairs with Tetra Pak Inc. "Together, we will protect what's good for future generations by giving carton packaging a second life and promoting carton recycling. We congratulate all of the 200,000 students that participated in this year's Waste-Free Lunch Challenge."
For more information and to view the winning schools, visit http://www.wastefreelunch.com/winners-2011