More than 400 Ontario schools took part in Waste Reduction Week 2013 by utilizing reusable, refillable and recyclable containers for school lunches, announced the Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO).
The annual Waste-Free Lunch Challenge helps schools decrease the amount of garbage they produce, and educates staff, students and parents about waste reduction.
More than 52 Ontario school boards participated, the RCO said in a January 21, 2013 statement to media.
“The average recycling rate for residents across Ontario is 47 per cent,” RCO executive director Jo-Anne St. Godard announced. “The most successful schools diverted 100 per cent of their lunch waste from landfill during the Waste-Free Lunch Challenge, and that proves the rest of us can learn a lot from them.”
Over the course of the week from October 15 – 19 of 2012, participating schools kept nearly 11,300 kg of lunch material from entering landfills – equivalent to 500 blue boxes full of waste. Schools sorted, weighed and recorded their lunchtime waste generation throughout the week. Winners were selected from those schools that diverted the most waste.
The RCO is happy to announce the 2012 winners of the Waste-Free Lunch Challenge:
- Bluewater District School Board: Walkerton District Community School (Walkerton, ON)
- Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario: J.L. Jordan Catholic School (Brockville, ON)
- Durham District School Board: Lord Elgin P.S. (Ajax, ON)
- Halton Catholic District School Board: Our Lady of Peace School (Oakville, ON); St. Andrew Catholic School (Oakville, ON)
- Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board: St. Marguerite d'Youville (Hamilton, ON)
- Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board: Fessenden Public School (Ancaster, ON)
- Toronto Catholic District School Board: Regina Mund (Toronto, ON ); Holy Child Catholic School (Etobicoke, ON); St. Ambrose Catholic Elementary (Toronto, ON)
- Toronto District School Board: Cresthaven Public School (North York, ON)
- Upper Grand District School Board: Primrose Elementary School (Shelburne, ON)
- York Catholic District School Board: Holy Spirit Catholic Elementary School (Aurora, ON)
In past three years, approximately 350,000 students have participated in Waste-Free Lunch Challenge.