Here are some ideas on how the canteen can contribute to your school becoming more sustainable:

Recycle:

• Set up separate bins in the canteen to separate rubbish from recyclables such as paper, cardboard, glass and cans.
• Look at whether packaging or boxes can be used for other purposes such as art and craft.
• Consider an alternative to printing out your canteen menu, can you use a whiteboard, put it online or let parents and children know about what's on offer in a different way?

Think local:

Food miles are the distance that food has travelled from paddock to plate and looks at the environmental cost of transporting food.  Here are some tips to reduce food miles in your school canteen.

• Try to buy locally grown fruit and vegetables in season.  This will mean they have not travelled as far to your school and will be of higher quality as they have not been in storage for months.
• You could also use fruit, vegetables or herbs grown in your school garden (if you have one).
• Aim to cook as many dishes from scratch and when using packaged foods look for those that have been grown, produced and manufactured in Australia.

Reduce your waste:

• Collect food scraps for the school compost, worm farm or chickens (if you have them).
• Try to reduce packaging by purchasing food in bulk e.g. big sauce bottle versus individually portioned packages.
• Reuse leftovers as much as possible e.g. use leftover vegetables in a pot of soup or ripe fruit in fruit muffins.
• Consider using reusable containers to serve meals and drinks.

Be an energy saver:

• Turn electrical appliances off e.g. ovens when not in use, lights, fridges and freezers over the school holidays. It is important to turn these off at the power source.
• Make sure seals on fridges are regularly checked and replaced if not in good condition.
• Reduce water use by turning off taps, fixing dripping taps and rinsing fruit and vegetables in a half filled sink rather than under running water.
• Check energy ratings for any new appliances – go for 6 stars!!
• Try to streamline your workflow in the canteen - could you time it so that a product can go straight from the oven into a bag rather than a mid-way stop in a pie warmer?