Around 30 primary and secondary schools have been promised an extra £500 for educational resources in return for signing up to East Sussex County Council’s ‘Community Challenge’ project.
During the project, pupils and their teachers will try to encourage their families and friends to recycle more by:
- Collecting promises from people to recycle in the form of pledge cards
- Running an eye-catching communications campaign in their area to get the recycling message out
- Recruiting ‘Waste-buster’ householders, who will be given a pack with ideas to cut down on household waste.
Prizes will be awarded to the most successful schools at a ceremony next year. The project will culminate in a Youth Waste Summit next March, where young people will be able to debate what they have learnt.
Anna Reid, headteacher at Willingdon Primary School, which is taking part in the initiative, said: "This is a great opportunity for schools to influence their communities for the better. Residents are used to the County Council asking people to recycle more but when the message comes from schoolchildren, who are the future decision-makers and captains of industry, I think they will really listen.
"Most of all, this is a chance for our children to learn how we can all take better care of the environment."
Councillor Matthew Lock, the County Council’s Lead Member for Transport and Environment, said: “I hope that this project will not only increase recycling rates but open young minds to important issues, like how we deal with waste and how this is linked to climate change.
“It will give pupils a chance to have their say and make a difference through real actions. “
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