Gwendraeth school cuts down on food waste


A Gwendraeth Valley school is raising awareness on the amount of good food that is needlessly thrown in the bin.
Ysgol Y Castell in Kidwelly has been carrying out a project on food waste as part of its work under the Eco Schools programme.
Figures show that in Wales we throw away a staggering 410,000 tonnes of food and drink each year.
Not only is it bad for the environment but it is bad for the pocket too. In a normal week, a family of four throws away around £12 worth of perfectly good food that could have been eaten.
With support from Carmarthenshire County Council and as part of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, staff and pupils at Ysgol Y Castell have been looking at how they can reduce their food waste both in school and at home.
Children school were shocked to hear how much food is bought and then wasted. They decided to write letters to send home to parents with tips on what they could do to reduce their food waste including the importance of carefully planning shopping and meal preparation.
Ysgol Y Castell is a Platinum award-winning Eco school and has achieved five ‘Healthy Schools’ awards. Their work on Fairtrade and healthy eating has been linked to the Love Food Hate Waste project.
Headteacher Jane Wareham said: “We are very fortunate in Kidwelly to have organic local food available from Burns Nutrition and also from the Co-operative store, which has a range of Fairtrade items.”
The council is encouraging residents to reduce their food waste as part of its waste strategy. The county must reduce the amount of rubbish it sends to landfill as well as increase its recycling/composting rate.
Executive Board Member for Street Scene Cllr Colin Evans said: “Ysgol Y Castell is carrying out some excellent work as part of the Eco Schools programme and their success is thoroughly deserved.
“I am delighted they are looking at how food waste and what they can do to reduce it. Although we compost our food waste in Carmarthenshire, which is obviously much better than burying it in landfill; it would be much better if we didn’t produce it in the first place. There is a lot we can do to reduce our food waste, for example, looking at use by dates, measuring our food so that we do not cook too much and using the freezer.”
For further advice on how to reduce your food waste and save money visit www.carmarthenmshire.gov.uk/recycling

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