From School Meals to Sustainable Futures: How Torfaen County Borough Council reduced food waste

Louise Gillam, Dietitian at APSE Council of the Year 2026 winner Torfaen County Borough Council, shares how they have achieved a significant reduction in food waste through pupil voice, sustainable choices and transparent communication. 

In Torfaen, sustainability is not something that is done to our pupils, it is something we do with them. Our Sustainable Schools Roadmap was developed to ensure that the School Meals Service remains accountable to the children and young people we serve, while delivering against wider environmental, social and economic objectives. Rather than setting targets in isolation, the roadmap provides a framework for continuous improvement that is shaped by evidence, measured through outcomes and informed by pupil feedback.

The roadmap was created in response to Torfaen Council’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and our belief that school meals can contribute to much more than nutrition alone. 

Through the roadmap, we have brought together a series of practical commitments covering climate action, waste reduction, local procurement, workforce development and pupil wellbeing. Most importantly, it provides transparency about what we have set out to achieve, the progress we have made and where further improvement is needed.

What makes the roadmap distinctive is the central role of pupil voice. Throughout its development and delivery, pupils have challenged us, questioned our decisions and helped shape our priorities. 

School Councils, Eco Committees and pupil-led initiatives have provided valuable insights into what works, what does not and where we should focus our efforts next. In this way, the roadmap acts as a living document that keeps us accountable to the very people our service exists to support.

This principle of accountability can be seen throughout the programme. When pupils told us they wanted more flexibility to choose plant-based meals without committing to a fully vegetarian menu, we redesigned our menus so that at least half of the main meal choices are vegetarian options. 

When Eco Committees encouraged us to explore Fairtrade sourcing, we reviewed our supply chains, confirmed that all sugar used within the service is Fairtrade-certified and introduced a pilot of Fairtrade bananas. 

When pupils wanted greater information about sustainability, we worked with academic researchers to calculate the carbon footprint of every meal and introduced a logo, chosen by pupils themselves, to identify lower-carbon menu options.

Nowhere has pupil involvement had a greater impact than through the Waste Warriors Competition, which has now been running successfully for four years. Rather than simply telling pupils that food waste is a problem, we handed ownership of the issue to them. 

Pupils measure plate waste, analyse the results, develop campaigns and challenge their peers to waste less food. As an added incentive, the two winning schools receive a highly sought-after prize: a full-day healthy cooking experience delivered by an external provider. 

The competition has achieved impressive results, with participating schools reducing plate waste by an average of 19% in 2023 and 32% in 2024. These achievements demonstrate the power of empowering young people to lead change, while combining sustainability, practical food education and pupil voice to deliver lasting environmental improvements.

The roadmap also enables us to hold ourselves publicly accountable for the environmental impact of the service. Working with leading academics, we established clear baseline measurements for our carbon footprint and identified the areas where action would have the greatest effect. 

As a result, despite serving 35% more food following the rollout of Universal Primary Free School Meals, we achieved an overall reduction in carbon emissions of 8%, equivalent to a 32% reduction per kilogram of food served. These are measurable outcomes that demonstrate real progress, not simply good intentions.

External recognition has reinforced the success of our approach. The pupil-led Waste Warriors programme won the LACA Wales Innovation Award and was shortlisted for the Waste2Zero Awards. The Sustainable Schools Roadmap also received the LACA Nan Berger Memorial Award and later the APSE Best Climate Action or Decarbonisation Initiative Award, recognising its innovative, evidence-based approach to sustainability and climate action within school catering.

These awards are important, but they are not the destination. Instead, they provide independent validation that the roadmap is delivering meaningful outcomes and offer encouragement to continue improving. They also demonstrate the value of empowering pupils and staff to become active participants in shaping a more sustainable future.

The roadmap extends beyond environmental sustainability. It commits us to supporting pupil health and wellbeing, providing healthy food during school holidays, investing in local staff, increasing the use of Welsh produce and strengthening local supply chains. It also captures our commitment to workforce development through training, qualifications and wellbeing initiatives, ensuring we have the skilled and motivated teams required to deliver a high-quality service into the future.

Ultimately, the Sustainable Schools Roadmap is much more than a sustainability plan. It is a mechanism for accountability, evidence-based decision making and continuous improvement.

It ensures that the voices of Torfaen’s pupils remain at the heart of the School Meals Service, helping us to measure progress, celebrate success and identify new opportunities for change. By continuing to listen, learn and adapt, we aim to demonstrate how school catering can deliver healthier children, stronger communities and a more sustainable future for generations to come.