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In February 2026, the students in middle school (age 10-14) division of the Eco-team decided to analyze the current effectiveness and accuracy of waste sorting in the school cafeteria. At present, there are food bins for waste disposal in the cafeteria: PMD, food, paper, statiegeld and general. For one week, the students focused mainly on food waste. They went through the food waste bin each day to see if incorrect items had been dropped in or not. They removed any non-food items, and then weighed the trash. Their discoveries included facts like: 8-15 non-food items dropped in the GFT bin each day, and 6.5 to 16.7 kg of food waste per day. Meanwhile, at least 9 cans a day incorrectly placed in the PMD instead of the statiegeld bin.
Activiteit/evenement
Waste: Food waste audit
- Welke tips wil je andere Eco-teams geven bij het organiseren van een activiteit/evenement?: Getting representatives from as many of the stakeholders as possible is helpful. In our situation, the cafeteria staff helped and encouraged the students, the science department lent a scale, and teachers agreed to let students come late to class so that the measurements could be taken. It's also helpful to have the students pre-made a chart to fill in their findings. In our case, our chart included: date, incorrect items after MS lunch, incorrect items after HS lunch, weight of food waste, and general observations.
- Onderwijstype: Basisonderwijs
- Waarom zijn jullie hier trots op?: We are proud that the students took on the challenge of digging through the food trash each day, and that the results have informed and inspired them about what next steps need to be taken. They are going to start an education campaign now for their peers about correct food sorting. Their plan includes face-to-face conversations, games and posters. They are also going to meet with the high school students of the Eco team, as some of the problems and solutions need to occur during the high school lunch period.
- School: American School of the Hague