Children at Raynsford Church of England Academy team up with housebuilder to promote recycling

Youngsters teamed up with housebuilder Barratt Homes to promote the benefits of recycling.

Pupils at Raynsford Church of England Academy in Henlow were encouraged to collect plastic lid tops to fill a 'Zero Waste Box' - and were rewarded for their hard work with a brand new bench made out of recycled plastic.

The project was part of a wider campaign implemented by Barratt North Thames at schools across the Northern Home Counties, with a total of 37,825 units of waste recycled.

It is often assumed that plastic lids cannot be recycled and so they end up in landfill, in oceans or on beaches with plastic consistently making up 80 per cent of all marine debris studied.

The ‘Zero Waste Boxes’ donated to the school allowed pupils to recycle 7,565 units of waste and learn about the importance of individual action to tackle plastic pollution.

Karly Williams, Sales and Marketing Director for Barratt North Thames, said: “As a sustainable housebuilder, we wanted to work with Raynsford Church of England Academy to encourage pupils to recycle.

"The amount of plastic lids that the school collected was very impressive and a reminder of the small steps we can take on an individual level which can have a larger impact.

"We hope the pupils found it educational and enjoy using their recycled plastic bench.”

Julie Ashwell, Headteacher at Raynsford Church of England Academy, said: “The plastic pollution crisis is incredibly important and we are passionate about teaching pupils from a young age to recycle, so we were more than happy to work with Barratt Homes on this campaign.

"The pupils really enjoyed collecting plastic lid tops and encouraging their families to get involved too, it made recycling engaging and fun for the pupils.

"They are also very excited to use the recycled plastic bench, which we would like to thank Barratt Homes for generously donating – it looks fantastic!”