At the cafe we are currently working hard to become less wasteful and more sustainable in terms of both the food and drink we source and the packaging they come in, and in our housekeeping.
The crisp packet recycling is hugely successful; the box is available in the foyer for anyone to put their used crisp packets in – although it is a Walkers Crisps initiative you can put in any brand, any variety. The big box is emptied about every fortnight and taken to a local group who send them on to be recycled into all sorts of things from garden furniture to waste bins.
We have eradicated single- use plastic bottles, only sourcing cold drinks in glass bottles or cans (we are currently using up the last of the Fruit Shoots, to be replaced with Orange or Blackcurrant squashes). On the tables we are beginning to use up the individual sugar sachets and move to glass bottle shakers. The individual butter sachets went a long time ago, replaced with pats of butter from a block. Plastic straws also went a while ago and we have paper straws if they are needed, but we don’t provide them as a matter of course.
The fresh fruit and veg are sourced from a local Greengrocer, which helps the local economy and small business as well as largely being plastic free, as the food comes loose. The bread, while sourced from a supermarket is generally packaged in paper rather than plastic.
One of the most insidious plastics that has crept into everyone’s everyday use is Clingfilm, and whilst undeniably useful, it is hopeless in terms of sustainability. We are currently trying to source individual lunch boxes to use for the prepared Toddlers’ plates so that we can stop using it and we already store left- overs in hard plastic boxes.
The menu has been altered so that a salad comes as an optional extra to the main lunches, as we were finding that so many people left the salads and we had to throw them away. It has definitely had an effect causing less food waste.
These are perhaps small things, but every little really does help and the more we do as individuals and collectively will have a knock -on effect on suppliers who hopefully will get the message that we have to move on to more sustainable living if we are to help protect this amazing, wonderful, diverse and beautiful planet God has given to us to live on and look after responsibly.