Enterprising students have been competing to create the best recipe to help solve the food waste crisis.

Those pupils at Sir John Lawes School (SJL) in Harpenden devised a competition called “The Great British Waste Off” as a way of raising awareness about the excess of food waste, and to encourage students to get involved in Sustainable St Albans Week.

To prepare for the event, members of the school’s eco group sampled cakes made with ingredients that would have otherwise been wasted, and visited Year 7 form classes to teach students and staff about food waste.

Louise Ashman, geography teacher and head of Eco Schools at SJL, said: “The competition got us all thinking about how we could use food that would otherwise be thrown away. We had a big response from staff and students with lots of really good ideas.”

The school encourages students to become aware of environmental issues that affect us all, with the idea for the competition coming about during an Eco Schools meeting.

The competition involved Year 7 students thinking of a recipe that uses food that would otherwise be wasted, such as brown bananas. They had a week to draw up their idea with the best entries being selected for inclusion in an eco-friendly recipe book which will be made available to students, staff and parents, inspiring them to waste less food.

The Eco Schools Group judged the entries on their innovative thinking and the clarity of their recipe. The students and staff were shocked by the fact that one third of food is wasted globally and they enjoyed thinking of unique ways to use up food that would otherwise go to waste.