Over nine million pupils attend over 24,000 primary and secondary schools across the UK. With this comes with over nine million pens, papers, wrappers, food, books, bottles, boxes – you get the idea. This translates to approximately 180 million kg of waste created by schools across the UK every year. 

That is 180 million kilograms of potential cost savings, recycling opportunities and environmental improvements. To put that into perspective, each primary school pupil procure around 45 kg of waste per academic year, and each secondary pupil around 22kg. When you multiply that by millions of students, it’s easy to see how quickly waste can escalate. And ultimately end up throwing money in the bin! 

We are going to break down some of the biggest pitfalls and waste within schools, while giving tips on how to produce less rubbish.

Food Waste

From picky eaters and over portioned lunches, food waste is unavoidable. Packed lunches contribute their fair share too with crusts left on sandwiches and bruised apples also ending up in the bin.  Schools are responsible for 13% of England’s non-domestic food waste. Across the UK, roughly 80,000 tonnes of food waste are generated daily by schools. That’s an enormous environmental and financial burden. The most commonly waste items include vegetables (no surprise!) accounting for nearly half of all discarded food. Followed by carbohydrates like pasta, rice and bread. Much of this is left untouched, scraped off plates or tossed from packed lunches.

Quick Tip:

Rethink portion sizes and serving methods. Consider offering buffet style options, which let pupils choose their own vegetables and portion sizes. More choice often leads to less waste.

Paper & Cardboard 

Combined, paper and card account for a huge proportion of school waste, nearly 70% of total waste in many cases. From worksheets and books to display boards and packaging, the usage is constant. The biggest shock is that schools generate 80% recyclable waste but only recycle 20% of it. This means that schools are paying to dispose of materials that could be easily (and cheaper) recycled. 

Quick tip:

Conduct a paper audit. Track how much is being printed, copied or discarded. Try to shift to digital resources where possible and introduce double sided printing policies. Doing this will cut your paper waste in half and can significantly reduce your toner usage and associated costs.

Packaging and plastics

From snack wrappers to juice bottles and lunch packaging is another source of mounting waste. A significant chunk of this comes from packed lunches brought from home. 

Quick tip:

Encouraging reusable containers and water bottles. Many schools are adopting ‘low waste lunch’ days to promote eco conscious habits among students and parents.

WEEE and hazardous waste

Outdated equipment and broken tech generate Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Alongside this, schools are having to store chemical waste from cleaning products and sanitary waste, the waste process gets more complex.

Quick tip:

Ensure your waste disposal is cost effective and environmentally responsible.  You can consider donating, if it still works or can be repaired. Many charities and social enterprises accept second-hand school equipment to support under-resourced schools in the UK and abroad. This extends the product’s life, helps reduce landfill waste, and supports educational equity.