Youngsters take the lead in recycling and tackling litter

Pupils at St John with St Mark CE Primary School have been presented with awards for making their community a greener place.

It’s the result of partnership work between the school and Bury Council’s waste and street cleaning teams.

In recognition of their efforts, a special school assembly was held at which they received a plaque for achieving their Gold Bury Street Care Pledge from the Mayor of Bury, Councillor Dorothy Gunther.

They were also given a certificate of achievement by Glenn Stuart, the council’s head of waste management, for keeping their community clean, litter-picking, recycling and protecting their environment, and presented with plants in re-used tin cans containing Revive compost made from recycled food waste.

Mr Steve Ollis, the school’s head teacher, said: “Educating children about litter and recycling is important and hopefully they will take the important messages learned home to their families. We were honoured to be presented with the awards at our special school assembly, and we hope that every child in every Bury primary school can share this message about looking after their community - don't drop litter, keep your streets clean and recycle whenever you can.”

Part of the pupils’ work involved them taking part in a major community litter pick around the school and the Hornby Street area. They collected seven large sacks of non-recyclable litter, four green bags of paper and cardboard, four blue bags of mixed recycling, and two kitchen caddies of food waste.

Glenn Stuart added: “Well done to all the children for their hard work – they couldn’t believe that people would just throw litter on the ground a few feet away from a bin.

“Partnerships such as this are an excellent way to engage the school and community about the consequences of litter and fly-tipping, while promoting recycling and reducing waste in Bury.”

Any resident, school or local business can pledge to do their bit to help keep Bury clean, tidy and litter-free at www.bury.gov.uk/pledge

ENDS

Press release issued: 7 February 2018.

Picture: The pupils at St John with St Mark CE Primary School are praised for their efforts to recycle and tackle litter.