A school in Carlton has received a £500 cash boost for their recycling projects after an eco-minded pupil scooped first prize in a national competition.
Porchester Junior School pupil, Thomas Martin, won the Nestlé Waters R-Generation competition with his winning design for a wild bird feeder made from a recycled plastic bottle.
The Nestlé Waters R-Generation programme was developed in schools to teach children about plastic and plastic recycling and its competition judges quickly spotted that Thomas’s design was not only environmentally friendly, but it helped to address an ecological challenge for birds too.
Thomas, who is a Year 4 pupil at the school, said the news of his win came as a nice surprise.
He said: “I really enjoyed making my wild bird feeder and was completely shocked to hear that I’d won the competition.”
As part of the prize, Thomas’s school receive a £500 cash contribution towards its recycling efforts and an assembly delivered by RECOUP, the Plastics Recycling Charity.
Thomas said Porchester Junior School was now looking to use the cash to install colourful recycling bins after consulting with experts Priya Hamilton (Nestlé Waters) and Anne Hitch (RECOUP), who showed children how to audit their school’s recycling to calculate the best way to spend the prize money in the fight against plastic pollution.
Headteacher, Graham Cullen said Thomas was an inspiration to the school.
He said: “Thomas’s win was great news and the prize money will go a long way to improving our school’s recycling facilities and raise the profile of recycling with children and staff alike.”
Thomas said he hoped the new bins would make it fun for people to recycle and be more mindful of how they deal with rubbish.
“I just can’t wait for the new recycling bins to arrive in school!” he said.
