Q&A on Catering Sustainably at Alleyn's

Alleyn’s catering is a huge operation, providing a meal for 1700 pupils and teachers across the school every day, so any positive changes the team can make to that operation will have real impact. Carlo and Marketa answered our questions:

What happens to all our food waste at school? 

"When you scrape your food into the food waste bins it is stored and then collected twice a week to be used as biofuel."

How is the recycling going? 

"To maximise our recycling we have simplified the system. There are just two types of bin for non-organic waste in the dining hall now – general waste bins and mixed recyclable bins. This means you can quickly put all your recyclable waste in the same bin during busy lunchtimes. If something can’t be recycled it goes into the rubbish. We’ve put these in the kitchen too to ensure we can recycle just as easily as you. A recycling company collects the mixed recycling every week."

What’s the situation now on disposable plastic?

"We have disposed of plastic bottles entirely and we are very proud of our new machine, which provides filtered water and fizzy water on tap to fill our reusable glass water bottles so that we don’t order in glass or plastic bottles for our events catering.

We’re serving yoghurts and other desserts in reusable plastic pots in the staff and pupils’ dining room. These new pots are designed to be used again and again so you can all play your part here by ensuring you keep them in the dining room so that they can be washed and reused the following day.""

Any other developments? 

"Yes! We’ve introduced Lickalix ice lollies, which are proving very popular now summer is here! They are made of all-natural ingredients, produced locally and come in totally compostable and plastic-free packaging. You might have enjoyed one one these for dessert in the dining hall recently or you can buy them in the EA Bean.

And we won't stop here - we're always looking for new ways to feed the school community in a more sustainable way. "

This is just what we want to hear – keep up the good work!