Our cafeteria is like all other cafs, except when our woodshop teacher, Charlie Fitton, is on patrol.
On his day, the fittin' solution to garbage control is to run a lottery right by the tray return window. Each student who returns a tray full of dishes and garbage receives a ticket in the Fitton lottery. Prizes range from the monetary (discounts in the caf) to the salutary (you get to shake the principal's hand and get a Polaroid snap of the momentous occasion) and just short of incendiary (one free pull of the next test of the fire alarm system). Students are willing to dig into garbage pails from other rooms or sneak trays from the caf line just to participate.
Charlie holds a wood block drilled with holes into which he inserts lucky and not so lucky tickets. Students draw the rolled up tickets from the block after they clean up.
As mentioned, prizes range from the worthy to the inane, but all have fun and our caf is tidy for at least one day of the week.
Other prizes in the Fitton lottery: a free block of wood; a school spirit t-shirt; a detention pass; a hug; a free late; free coffee; a chocolate bar; a bag of sawdust. Most prizes are of no or little cost but it's the competition that makes it fun.
Dave Conlon