A school has ditched disposable plastic lunch plates for reusable containers as part of a drive to be protect the environment.

Adam and Emily Hopkins, who have a child at Saltus Grammar School, donated cash to help fund the changeover.

Jon Beard, the deputy head at Saltus, said: “The Eco Club came to us and said they thought it was a bit ridiculous so we got a bunch of students together to work on moving away from disposable plastic.

“We worked with our lunch provider La Trattoria and thanks to a donation from the parents we were able to get the show on the road. We will be starting in September.”

The move to reusable crockery and cutlery came after pupils in the Pembroke school’s Eco Club, with the help of environmental groups Keep Bermuda Beautiful and Greenrock, found that 81lb of trash was generated on a single day in the secondary school last November.

Mr Beard said: “This was an idea that came from the students.

“It is a perfect initiative in today’s age as we have become more aware of these issues and I applaud them for taking this path.”

The containers, which are a part of the 02GO ecological product line, include a reusable knife, fork and spoon.

The lunch kit does not contain bisphenol A, known as BPA, a chemical used in plastics that some studies have suggested can be harmful to humans.

A total of 600 containers will be available in the next academic year.

Parents will be asked to provide suitable containers for their children in later years.

Food will be served on a non-plastic plate if a pupil forgets to bring their lunch kit.