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Print articleEfforts by pupils at Lea in recycling plastics, glass, and food waste have been so successful that Herefordshire Council was called in to reduce the size of the bin that sends waste to landfill by 50 per cent.
The school is currently going for its green flag (an award scheme run by eco-schools to encourage pupil engagement in environmental issues) and has set up a committee of children, parents, governors and school staff, which meets every month, to come up with innovative ways of reducing waste and becoming more environmentally friendly.
Reducing their rubbish has been a whole school effort: cardboard is stored at school and collected for recycling by one of the governors; plastic milk cartons are taken for road side collection by one of the teaching assistants and food waste, teabags and paper towels are taken to composters and wormeries supplied through council grants.
Head teacher, Linda Townsend, said:
?I hate waste and recycle at home all the time, so it seemed natural to get the school to recycle more too. The whole school has rallied around to make our scheme so successful. In particular the children have embraced every aspect of recycling and have even lobbied local builders to be more careful with their waste to protect the hedgerows.
?As well as reducing the amount of waste to go to landfill, we have managed to make financial savings on our refuse collection bill.?
As a result of the smaller bin, the school has reduced its annual collection bill by over ?60. In the budget, the Chancellor said that landfill tax is to increase by ?8 per tonne per year. As land-fill tax goes up, Lea Primary School is going to be saving even more money.
Councillor Harry Bramer, representing the ward of Penyard, visited the school this week. ?I am delighted with the efforts here in Lea,? he said. ?This is just what we need to build on to bring the county's land fill costs into line with Council targets,? he continued. ?Well done to all at Lea School - you have my full support in your bid for Green Flag status.?
Recycling solid waste isn't the school's only environmental effort: it had the foresight to include a grey-water system when the school was built 3 years ago. With the grey-water system the school recycles water from basins and sinks for flushing the toilets. And they are looking to save even more, by putting bricks in the cisterns.
