A great learning experience at Powerday recycling plant

“We visited Powerday in Willesden just before Easter break to see how they recycle waste items and industrial waste from nearby areas. Following a tour of the plant, which was interesting and a real eye-opener, we spent the remainder of our day in their conference room creating our sustainability plan for the 2023-24 academic year.

Experienced staff from the plant were on hand to help us through this exercise, where we first analysed the feedback received from the sustainability surveys we carried out with parents, pupils, and governors. This exercise was valuable as it enabled us to get a snapshot of where we are and where we could improve. We reviewed the School’s electricity, gas and water usage data, and then brainstormed ideas on how the School could better conserve these resources.

Another area we looked at was animal conservation and ways in which we could improve those efforts by planting trees and supporting habitats in our area. We know that this can make a difference because, earlier this year, we did some work on beehive conservation in Sudbury Fields – and we now have a growing bee community.

It was a very beneficial day, as we left with many innovative ideas to help us continue our sustainability work for the next academic year. We are excited to build on the achievements we have made this year. ”

Rishi (9WA) n

Minimising food waste

Working in collaboration with our catering team, the School is proud to have significantly reduced plate waste over the last year. Year groups have had their plate waste weighed each day and the figures have been reported back to the students on the digital boards around the campus. We have also been keeping a record over the year to monitor fluctuations and see which year has the best, or rather least, plate waste.

Since Christmas, we have given this a big push and we are pleased to say we have been reducing our food waste by 10kg per week on average. This has been helped by effective menu planning, which has involved asking pupils what they would like to see on the menu – the result being a shift towards the use of more seasonal produce and greater education across the School community on making better choices.

Our efforts have been recognised by Harrow School and we have recently welcomed the opportunity to support their food waste reduction objectives. This has been an extremely rewarding project and both schools hope to continue collaborating on reducing our carbon footprints. n