Start smaller
Take a smaller first serving. You can always return for more.
A school-day reality
50 kg
of food is wasted in one school day.
Across five school days, that becomes 250 kg. Wednesday lunch is the reported hotspot.
The week at a glance
Five days.
One number we can change.
250kg
50 kg per school day
× 5 school days
0150 kgMonday
0250 kgTuesday
0350 kgWednesday
0450 kgThursday
0550 kgFriday
The weekly total uses the reported average of 50 kg per school day. The individual weekday amounts have not been measured here; Wednesday lunch is the reported hotspot.
Where to begin
Wednesday lunch
stands out.
WED
Reported school hotspot
One lunch gives us a clear place to act.
Start with the amount you expect to finish, then return for more if you are still hungry.Make a Wednesday planThe moment that matters
Lunch is
the hotspot.
Prevention starts before food reaches the bin. A smaller first serving leaves room to return for more without committing to food you may not finish.
See four choices that helpWaste less without
making lunch complicated
Four small
moves.
Skip what I won’t eat
Ask for less or say no to a side you know you will not finish.
Come back if I’m hungry
Finish the first serving, then decide whether you want seconds.
Choose to finish
Take food you expect to enjoy and finish.
A plan you can use
Plan my
next lunch.
Private to this deviceNo name, account, submission or public total.
Checking this device for a saved plan…
The wider picture
Why prevention
comes first.
Singapore’s food-waste strategy starts by avoiding waste before it happens. That is the stage students can influence most directly at lunch.
These are national figures from Singapore’s National Environment Agency. They are not UWCSEA Dover measurements.
- 01Prevent
Take, order or prepare only what can be eaten.
- 02Redistribute
Redirect safe, edible surplus food where appropriate.
- 03Treat or valorise
Turn separated food waste into useful products such as feed, compost or biogas.
- 04Recover energy
Recover value from unavoidable waste after higher-priority options.
Sources and further reading
Read the guidance behind these actions.
Our weekly reset
Make Wednesday
the turning point.
Choose a smaller first serving, skip what you know you will not eat, and return for more if you are still hungry.
Make my Wednesday planOne final commitment
My next lunch,
I will…
Choose one or more actions. Your pledge is saved only in this browser and is never submitted or shown publicly.
Pledge saved on this device.