Vienna schools cut food waste by more than 20 percent

Thirty Vienna schools avoided 13,000 kilograms of food waste in one school year, cutting the share of meals thrown away from 24 to 19 percent, ORF reported. The schools took part in a programme with the United Against Waste initiative.

Some schools reduced their waste by more than a third. The savings are also expected to prevent more than 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year across the participating schools, Vienna’s education councillor Bettina Emmerling said.

Monitoring at the schools initially found that nearly a quarter of delivered meals was thrown away. The figures varied widely: some schools discarded about 10 percent of food, while others threw away as much as 40 percent, even where conditions were comparable.

Measures included information sessions for staff responsible for school meals, surveys of pupils about menus, more flexible meal times and kitchen duties intended to raise awareness. Schools also shared feedback with meal suppliers. Short-notice absences, particularly during waves of illness, remained a challenge.

Earlier research by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, had found that soups and salads were often wasted. The city said monitoring confirmed this, making changes to food orders one of the main ways to reduce waste. The partnership has since expanded to 50 Vienna schools.

The United Nations’ International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste falls on September 29. The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences estimates that more than 1.2 million tonnes of food are wasted in Austria each year.