New initiatives in the canteen at King Edward V1 Handsworth School

During my research of marine litter, it really hit home that the efforts we make to reduce waste and recycle on a local level have a huge impact on litter reduction globally. When there is such a huge environmental problem it is difficult to know where to start. We cannot save the world all at once. It has taken years for this problem to accumulate and it will take years to reduce it, but what option do we have if we don't want our grandchildren to be waist-high in rubbish? The important thing is to stop creating all this unecessary rubbish in the first place.
At the same time that I was researching this problem, Miss Insch, Headmistress at King Edward V1 School, Handsworth was on a litter drive. She had noticed an increase in litter in the school grounds. The canteen was the source for a lot of it. Empty salt packets littered the area outside the canteen, plastic straws were strewn around the field and the most annoying litter of all was little plastic stirrers which appeared everywhere.  They look like mini ladders and are apparently used to stir coffee and tea. I have never seen a pupil drinking coffee or tea. Why can't they use a spoon and leave it to be washed?

Miss Insch arranged for me to meet the catering Manager, Mrs Rogers. We discussed the amount of unecessary plastic waste created by the canteen. She was very receptive and had had the very same discussion with Birmingham City Council. They had assured her that every effort was made to recycle as much plastic waste as possible. She didn't feel that she received very detailed information about just what happens to the litter once it has been collected.  When I told her just how much plastic is NOT recyclable she was very concerned. Once I have graduated I will be looking into this problem further and I hope to get some answers from Birmingham City Council regarding the destination of our local plastic products for recycling.  I will also be discussing with the catering suppliers the alternative options to plastic packaging for sandwiches - another frequent visitor to the school field.