Schools across Bury take part in nationwide Waste Week

Hundreds of youngsters in Bury have signed up to take part in Waste Week, a national campaign run by EDF Energy’s schools programme The Pod.

They join more than 1,900 schools across the country who will be encouraged to carry out a variety of awareness-raising activities during a week of their choice in March about the importance of reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill.

Created for students aged four to 14, this year’s Waste Week focuses on the impact of plastic waste. Schools can download a range of free resources from http://www.jointhepod.org/ to help students learn about the science behind plastic, along with problems caused by plastic waste and the types of plastic that can be recycled. These include lesson plans, videos, posters, certificates and games, and the recently launched ‘Bottle Stoppers Time Machine’, which shows students how the plastic bottles they send to landfill add up and the difference they can make by persuading their families to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Students will be encouraged to hold waste-themed assemblies and campaigns during their week of choice, as well as survey the amount of waste their school and families send to landfill and use recycled materials for activities such as art work and gardening. They can also blog, make pledges and post photos about their Waste Week experiences on http://www.jointhepod.org/ to share with other schools for inspiration.

Robyn Thorn, EDF Energy’s education programme manager, said: “It’s great to see so many schools in Bury signing up to get involved in this year’s Waste Week. We hope this campaign will spark year-round behaviour change and encourage more people than ever to reduce, reuse and recycle.”

Mrs Julia Rowlands, head teacher at St Stephen’s CE Primary School in Bury, said: “This is the third year running that our school has joined in with Waste Week run by The Pod. It gives us a great opportunity to focus our young pupils’ minds on the importance and real benefits of reducing, re-using and recycling waste. And, with the campaign running throughout March, it makes it easier to take part as we can pick the days, week or weeks that suit us best. 

“For any school that hasn’t yet taken part I’d say register and give it a go. There are lots of waste-inspired activities provided as part of the campaign so lesson planning requirements are minimal. Our younger pupils are really looking forward to the ‘bling a bottle’ activity and imagining what ‘life in the dumps’ would be like.” 

Councillor Tony Isherwood, cabinet member for environment, said: “Over the last couple of years Bury’s schools have really risen to the challenge of increasing the amount they recycle. For food waste alone we now have 68 school kitchens recycling all their cooked and uncooked food waste and 40 of these schools recycle food waste beyond the school kitchen - that’s a lot of food waste that’s been diverted from landfill. 

“It really is important for young pupils to learn about the benefits of recycling and cutting back on waste, not only so that they can take these important life skills into adult life, but also so that they can share them at home with family members and friends and take them into the community.” 

The Pod, launched in 2008, was developed to help EDF Energy meet its Sustainability Commitment of engaging with 2.5 million children by 2012 in learning about the sustainable use of energy. This target was reached two years ahead of schedule, with more than 18,000 schools and community groups now registered to The Pod and more than ten million children engaged with the programme.

All of The Pod’s resources are linked to the national curriculum and are accredited by Eco-Schools England. The Pod also works with partners such as the Met Office, the British Science Association and Community Interest Company (CIC) ‘Wastebuster’ to design and deliver its content and resources.

Schools who take part in Waste Week are invited to build on the knowledge they have gained by entering the ‘Primary Earth Summit 2014’, run by CIC Wastebuster. This national initiative gives students the opportunity to present their ideas for reducing plastic waste to political and industry change-makers in Parliament.

To sign up to Waste Week and for more information on EDF Energy’s The Pod, visit www.jointhepod.org/wasteweek. 

ENDS

Press release issued: 13 March 2014.

Picture attached: Helping to spread the recycling message is Kenyi Jogo, a pupil at Mersey Drive Primary School in Whitefield.

Note to editors:

EDF Energy
EDF Energy is one of the UK’s largest energy companies and the largest producer of low-carbon electricity, producing around one-fifth of the nation's electricity from its nuclear power stations, wind farms, coal and gas power stations and combined heat and power plants. The company supplies gas and electricity to 5.8 million business and residential customer accounts and is the biggest supplier of electricity by volume in Great Britain.

EDF Energy’s safe and secure operation of its eight existing nuclear power stations at sites across the country makes it the UK’s largest generator of low carbon electricity. EDF Energy is also leading the UK's nuclear renaissance and has published plans to build four new nuclear plants, subject to the right investment framework.

These new plants could generate enough low carbon electricity for about 40% of Britain’s homes. They would make an important contribution to the UK’s future needs for clean, secure and affordable energy. The project is already creating business and job opportunities for British companies and workers.

Through Our Sustainability Commitments, EDF Energy has developed one of the biggest environmental and social programmes of any British energy company.

In 2013 EDF Energy received seven “Big Ticks” in the Business in the Community (BITC) Responsible Business Awards, including a Platinum Big Tick in BITC’s Corporate Responsibility Index. EDF Energy also received the Environmental Leadership for Behavioural Change Award in the national 2013 Environment and Energy Awards and was highly commended in the first ever pan European Corporate Social Responsibility Awards scheme for its Sustainable Schools programme – the Pod. The Pod’s waste recycling film was also highly commended in the Environment Award category of the 2013 tv/e Global Sustainability Film Awards.

EDF was an official partner and the official electricity supplier to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company supplied electricity to the Olympic Park which was backed by low-carbon sources: 80% from nuclear and 20% from renewable generation.

The Pod, EDF Energy’s programme for schools

Launched in September 2008, the Pod sits at the heart of EDF Energy’s programme for greener schools. It was developed to help EDF Energy meet its Sustainability Commitment of engaging with 2.5 million children by 2012 in learning about the sustainable use of energy. The Pod now has some 18,000 registered schools and community groups, and seeks to engage young people on energy, science and sustainability. It aims to make real and measurable difference to the energy usage and carbon output of schools across the UK and to provide practical support, activities and materials for teachers.

http://www.jointhepod.org/ is an interactive website for teachers providing free lesson plans, activities, games and information all with cross curricular links. The content is currently aimed at key stages 1, 2 and 3. The ethos of the Pod is ‘Share your ideas and inspire each other’, which is why the site also encourages pupils and teachers to blog about their activities and to post photos and videos to showcase their green projects.

For more information please contact the EDF Energy Team on 0207 025 6692 or edfenergyteam@redconsultancy.com