On Wednesday, we had the pleasure of welcoming Ruth Jones from Veolia Street Champions to our school. Ruth works for the council, delivering engaging workshops to children about the importance of recycling.
She began her day with our reception class, discussing where our recycling goes. The children learned about the clever trucks used for collection and the various materials that are sorted into them.
Following this, the entire school gathered for an assembly focused on recycling. Ruth explained the different bins we have in our local area and what each one is used for. The children participated in a quiz to test their knowledge, successfully identifying which items can be recycled.
Later, Ruth conducted a packed lunch workshop with Year 5. The students examined items from a supermarket to determine which could be packaged more sustainably and recycled. The compiled a list of needs and wants for items of clothing and food that could be sources in different ways. This session was a fantastic reminder for everyone to help protect our planet by recycling.
As we approach the Easter holidays, it’s worth noting that the UK consumes around 80 million Easter eggs each year, generating approximately 4,500 tons of packaging. Veolia has shared some top tips to help us recycle our Easter packaging correctly:
- Cardboard: Place it in your blue bag. Remember to flatten the cardboard to create more space.
- Plastic: If your Easter treat has plastic packaging, remove it and put it in your general waste bin.
- Flowers: If they start to wilt, add them to your home compost bin or green garden waste bin.
- Easter cards: Ensure they are not decorated with glitter so they can be recycled in your blue bag.
- Packaging: Reuse packaging boxes and wrap gifts with brown paper.
- Shredded paper: Place it in your blue bag (wrap it in newspaper to prevent it from blowing away).
For more information about recycling, visit Veolia’s Easter packaging page Easter Packaging | Veolia Telford and Wrekin. 
To check your bin collection days during the bank holidays, visit Telford and Wrekin’s bin day finder https://dac.telford.gov.uk/bindayfinder.