Robyn Thorn, EDF Energy’s Education Programme Manager said “Children can be really passionate about the environment and are keen to learn more about what they can do to protect it. Waste Week has become a national event in UK school calendars; because teachers find it really helps focus attention on this important issue and creates meaningful impact.”
Following the success from our campaign last year we decided once again to take part in a Plastic Free Week. The Eco Warriors in each class helped to keep a tally over 2 weeks of the amount of single use plastic used in lunchboxes. They were pleased to discover with a little bit of effort from parents/carers and children we reduced our plastic usage. 4D were the most successful class, reducing their plastic usage by 85 pieces.
To begin our Waste Week campaign, Miss Worrall read ‘The Day the Ocean Went Away’ during story assembly. Everyone made a pledge to use lesson plastic during the following week.
Across the school each class took part in lessons and activities to promote awareness about the issues of single use plastic. In Year 2 they sorted the packaging from their lunchboxes into reusable and recyclable and based on their materials. They then discussed what materials they could use instead. In Year 5, the children learnt about the problem of plastic pollution in our seas and oceans. They created stop motion animations on the iPads to raise awareness of the issue.
Children in Year 4 linked Waste Week to their DT project. They used recycled materials to design and build their own Eco houses. They considered how their houses could use renewable energy, water collection and compost to be sustainable. In Year 1, they looked at single use plastic and thought of alternatives and discussed how to reduce food waster especially within school. Year 6 focussed on what can be readily recycled and what can be recycled through the Terra Cycle scheme.
Throughout the week, Mrs Wilcockson continued her hard work collecting crisp packets, chocolate bar and biscuit wrappers from lunch boxes. Along with milk bottle tops and milk bottles she takes them each week to Bourne Toys as part of their recycling scheme. This scheme not only reduces the amount of plastic sent to the landfill but also raises money for local good causes.
Miss Worrall and Mrs Simpson (Eco School Co-ordinators) said, “Thank you so much to all the parents/carers and children who made a difference during Waste Week. Earlier this year we created our ‘Keep our sea plastic free’ display from recycled bottle tops collected by staff, children and parents/carers. During Waste Week, once again the children showed fantastic enthusiasm about plastic pollution and understand they can make a difference to the world.”
