European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR)
which encourages all Europeans to carry out awareness-raising actions on sustainable resource and waste management during a single week in November.

Description of the action

For one week, the school canteen becomes a living laboratory to fight food waste.

Daily measurement: students weigh and record the leftovers from their plates using the reducefoodwaste.io app.

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Visualization: results are displayed on a canteen board (kg wasted, CO₂ generated, € lost).

Awareness activities: each day, a group of students leads a creative action (posters, short performances, a “sharing fruit table,” brief talks about the value of food).

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Positive competition: classes compete to waste less food. The “Clean Plate Ambassadors” recognition is awarded to the group with the best results.

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Final session: final results are presented (kg of food saved, CO₂ reduced, money saved), and the school community signs a collective pledge for sustainable eating habits.

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Target audience

• Primary and secondary school students

• Teachers and families

• Kitchen and canteen staff

Communication tools used

• Posters and murals

• Daily announcements in the canteen

• School social media channels

• Final report shared with families

 

Geographical scope

Local (with potential for replication in other schools across Spain and Europe)

 

Duration

1 week (with the option to extend as an annual program)

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Expected impact

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• 15–20% reduction in food waste during the challenge week.

• Active involvement of students, teachers, families, and canteen staff.

• Greater awareness of the social, environmental, and economic impacts of food waste.

• A replicable model for other schools and collective canteens.