Climate change is seen by young people as a critical and urgent issue. Students want to be part of the change towards a greener future and to feel proud of their school and government in taking practical action to protect the environment. Members of the SA SRC have therefore developed the Greening Our Canteens campaign, calling on the South Australian Government to support school canteens to have environmentally sustainable products and practices.
The Commissioner recommends that the review focus on schools – and school canteens in particular – as important settings where reusable food and beverage containers should be used.
Students identified key opportunities for school canteens to reduce packaging waste, which included providing or encouraging the use of reusable kitchenware, containers and cutlery, as well as offering ‘eat in’ options. They want school canteens to not only provide fresh and affordable food options, but to also commit to eliminating the use of plastic packaging and reducing the volume of food and organic waste being sent to landfill.