Minister for Environment, Hannah Blythyn has visited ‘eco-school’ Blaengwrach Primary to congratulate the pupils on their recycling success.
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
Blaengwrach Primary, located in Neath-Port Talbot, was one of two Welsh schools that saw 100% of their pupils take part in a UK-wide home recycling challenge during the summer holidays.
Developed by Recycle for Wales and Wastebuster, the Home Recycling Challenge aimed to educate pupils about what can be recycled in their homes and the benefits of recycling.
The challenge was figure-headed by Welsh TV presenter Gethin Jones and children’s TV presenter Maddie Moate along with recycling expert Captain Busta, Wastebuster’s popular mascot. Pupils were given a take-home worksheet to find out what can be recycled from around the home by using the Recycling Locator and schools were ranked by the percentage of pupils that returned the completed worksheet.
In total, 59 Welsh schools registered to undertake activity. The winning school was selected at random from the twelve schools across the UK that had 100 per cent of their pupils submit worksheets.
The Minister said:
"Wales leads the rest of the UK with a 64% recycling rate and it’s fantastic to see young people demonstrate so much enthusiasm towards recycling. If we are going to achieve our ambition of a 70% recycling rate by 2025 it is vital our future generations are on board.
“Congratulations to the pupils of Blaengwrach Primary School for taking part in the home recycling challenge and for becoming the recycling expert in their home. They have certainly earned the title of “super-recyclers”. I hope all of our Welsh participants found this an exciting challenge.”
Mrs Sam Sharp, Headteacher of Blaengwrach Primary added:
“Ensuring pupils are aware of the part they can play in recycling and sustainability is very important. We have a very proactive eco committee that monitors our waste, our meter readings and supports initiatives to inform the local community as well as the pupils of the importance of being eco friendly. We’re very proud of the work they do and the strength of pupil voice in the school."
Carl Nichols, Head of WRAP Cymru, said:
“It’s fantastic to see the Minister supporting Recycle for Wales’ Home Recycling Challenge. Wales ranks third in the world at recycling, with more and more of us recycling in the country – and we’d like to be top of the leader board! By engaging school children with recycling, they can in turn inspire their families and help them to understand how best to recycle at home.”