Waste has always been an issue at IST from print credits to excess food in the canteen. Ethical Consumerism aims to reduce our waste and encourage sustainable consumption in a triple bottom line manner. We hope to be more cost-effective whilst supporting the local economies and caring for our local ecosystem.
Target 1: Reducing Waste
Scale: Small
About:
More bins throughout the school would be useful, as this will reduce waste and encourage students to be more environmentally friendly. Also encouraging students and teachers to use the printer less to save ink and paper will lower waste. Printing double-sided instead of single-sided is better, as you are saving energy and trees by reducing your consumption. More water fountains throughout school would help reduce waste, as students are less likely to bring plastic water bottles.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION:
This program can be carried out relatively quickly by contacting Mrs. Steinson, consulting our school council or speaking directly to Friends about raising money for or buying more bins and water fountains.
School / Business who has implemented this scheme:
Estimated Cost:
€200 (could be more depending on where we buy water fountains and bins)
Target 2: INTRODUCE COMPOSTING
Scale: MEDIUM
About:
At IST we waste a lot, particularly in the Canteen. Composting is a natural, low-cost solution that would support our local eco-system and reduce the amount of waste we produce. This would have huge benefits for our school and local community as we emit less waste and turn what we do waste into nutrient-rich soil.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION:
Compost bins can be bought from a supplier and installed by the on-site team. We suggest that we have larger containers in the proposed wild garden. This will make the soil very nutrient-rich. This soil could also be used for growing our own produce. Food can be directly composted from the Canteen but would require a team to transfer the waste into the bins which may be on a different side of the school. If we composted waste from the Canteen we would also have to implement a composting bin and decide what should go in it (only vegetable substances).
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We would also like to introduce compost bins inside of school for waste at break time. We could also introduce compost bins in the IB Common Room and the Staff Room. These bins could be directly emptied into the large compost bins on-site.
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If there were to be an excess amount of soil produced due to high waste, IST could also sell it to families for a very low cost (to compete with garden centres) and make a profit. Ground around Toulouse is notoriously full of clay, so rich soil would be a valuable product to sell.
School / Business who has implemented this scheme:
Estimated Cost:
Leroy Merlin sell one compost bin for 38.70€. We may need up to three which would bring the cost to 116.10€. This could be provided for by the Friends of IST or by a CAS event.
Target 3: REDUCING CONSUMPTION OF MEAT
Scale: Medium
About:
We aim to reduce the consumption of meat, primarily in the canteen. This can be achieved by making better quality vegetarian meals as well as introducing meat supplements like vegetarian nuggets or veggie burgers. We could also invert the current options, having vegetarian meals as standard and meat as an optional.
It is equally important that we educate students and staff the benefits of eating less meat in order for them to continue this lifestyle change outside of the school environment.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION:
The canteen would be required to change their meals to adopt this style. It is also possible to ask parents for their recipes since IST has such fantastic culinary diversity as proven by the FairTrade cook books.
School / Business who has implemented this scheme:
All New York public schools do Meatless Mondays.
Estimated Cost:
We may have to pay the Canteen Supplier to change their meals, although the long-term cost should be cheaper as vegetarian dishes are usually cheaper than meat options.
Target 4: OFFER PACK LUNCH OPTION
Scale: MEDIUM
About:
Allowing students to choose to bring in packed lunches, rather than eating the food provided by the canteen. There is an issue with food waste in the canteen, because students do not always finish their whole meals; this is often because they either do not like the food on offer, or they have been served a portion that’s too big for them. Packed lunches would allow students to bring in food and portions that suit them, and help reduce the amount of food that is thrown away.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION:
This would involve educating students and parents/guardians about the importance of eating a healthy, varied diet, and how to eat in a way that causes as little damage to the environment as possible; for example by buying local, organic food or reducing meat consumption.
Estimated Cost:
200€ for additional microwaves / kettles. But, this could be paid for by the friends of IST.
Target 5: GROW FOOD ON SITE
Scale: Small
About:
We suggest the construction of a gardening area where fresh produce can be grown for Staff/IB/Cantine lunches. We would have to be selective about what we grow, we could start by growing certain herbs then moving onto larger vegetables. If we chose the grow larger vegetables, more space would be needed in order to make it cost effective. If this is possible it would be cheaper than ordering the food from a supplier. It would also be healthier and more environmentally friendly because of the lack of preservatives and pesticides. It can also be used as an interactive activity for the PYP program.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION:
A gardening plot would need to be constructed. This could be done by: the IST community (families, students, staff), the on-site maintenance team or an external team.
We would also need to research the best seeds to buy before planting them. It would take a while for them to grow so it will need to be planned in advance. A strategy would be required for the maintenance and collection of the produce.
We could integrate this target with the implementation of Wild Gardens as bugs & green spaces would support our crops and their ecosystem.
Estimated Cost:
There would be a small capital cost but there would be a long-term benefit as grown produce are roughly 20% cheaper than buying fresh food at the shop.
School / Business who has implemented this scheme:
Target 6: BUY FROM WITHIN THE EU
Scale: Small
About:
School supplies should be bought from within EU countries so that the materials do not need to be transported over long distances. We should also ensure that our supplies are manufactured within the EU, to promote fair working conditions. This will be environmentally friendly as it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION:
Many materials are currently bought from within the EU, so little needs to be done to push to a complete change. Heads of Departments and Teams On-Site would be required to source materials manufactured within EU nations and could be implemented as near as the next time resources are bought.
Estimated Cost:
It would depend on multiple factors.
Target 7: green Transport SYSTEm
Scale: MEDIUM
About:
An IST Green Transport System would consist of a digital program that would suggest ways IST families could get to school. Suggested methods could include: public transport routes, cycling/walking or carpooling with nearby IST families (this would involve collecting the location of IST families into a database). This system would see an increase in people arriving by public transport, walking and particularly carpooling. This system would lessen the carbon footprint of journeys to our school, reduce traffic around the school and help families manage their time better.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION:
A digital system would have to be designed by either the technicians or by an IB Computer Science student as a CAS project. It would require information such as a public transport routes, walking routes as well as the following details from IST households: name, children at IST, Grade of the Children, contact, location, can they drive? We encourage the school to use an opt-out system to encourage use of such program. Information would have to be distributed at the beginning of each academic year via email and would have to be done in the most private and secure way possible. We would also have to make clear that the School is only suggesting such methods and are not responsible for use of the program.
Estimated Cost:
None