Wirral primary pupils win national recycling competition

Oct 19 2011 by Jade Wright, Birkenhead News

BROOKDALE Primary School in Greasby has won the Danone Rubbish to Riches recycling competition, a nationwide competition to save empty Danone Activia, Shape and Actimel yogurt containers from landfill.

In three months, the school saved 4,300 yogurt pots from landfill, winning the school a first prize of a £200 donation which the school has used to purchase a flag pole so it can raise the green flag it has recently been awarded as part of the Keep Britain Tidy Eco-Schools programme.

Parent Governor Sandra Leonard said the best part has been: “How excited the children get about how many plastic yogurt pots they can save. The school has become an eco-school so this initiative fits in perfectly and has helped us to practically teach the children the importance of resource conservation, recycling and upcycling at the same time as helping us earn our Eco-Schools green flag.”

The school was presented with its certificate at the weekly school assembly last week, during which TerraCycle talked to the pupils about the benefits of recycling.

TerraCycle uses the yogurt pots to make watering cans, shopping bags, notepads, folders, pencil cases and more. A range of TerraCycle’s upcycled products will be available in shops by the end of the year, so pupils will be able to see where their yogurt pots ended up.

Following the assembly the school’s new Eco-School green flag was raised for the first time.

Brookdale Primary School is part of a free nationwide programme called “Brigades” that pays organisations such as schools and charities to collect difficult to recycle waste such as yogurt pots that could otherwise go to landfill.

“The children and their parents are excited to be able to make a difference in their environment, while also raising money for the school,” added Mrs Leonard.

“It is going so well that we also joined the BIC writing instruments brigade where we collect pens.

“I think it is great to see how excited the children get about how many yogurt pots and pens they have collected and our involvement has raised £311.12 in total for the school so far which is fantastic.”