A SCHOOLS recycling awareness week was success with pupils.
Bosmere Junior School in Havant recently collaborated with an electrical recycling company to help educate the children in and raise awareness about the impacts of electronic waste on the planet.
The Electrical Amnesty Week involved a plastic box, which was left in the reception of the school by Hilsea-based Southern Electrical Recycling (SER), which children, teachers and parents were encouraged to fill with old technology.
SER also provided the school with its mascot, WEEE Man, a robot-style character made from recycled plastic, which has a built-in screen which played a presentation with educational information and facts about waste electrical and electronic equipment.
Across the week, people donated several items to be recycled by the firm, including mobile phones, tablets and other household equipment, such as toasters and hairdryers.
Headteacher Caroline Fisk, who is working hard to make the school an Eco School, said the initiative was a success all round.
She said: ‘This year Bosmere Junior School has worked hard to become an Eco school, and with Distinction! The vibrant eco-club has worked tirelessly to educate and change the mindset of everyone in the school community. One of the areas that has been most successful is the Recycling Station at the entrance of the school.
‘With this in mind, it was the perfect opportunity to work with Southern Electrical Recycling for their Electrical Amnesty Week. All the children were encouraged to bring in any electrical items that might be lying around at home so that they could be recycled by SER, rather than going to landfill. Gary and his team were great to work with and very accommodating of the demands of school life. They delivered empty crates and their WEEE man, who was himself a recycled robot, with a presentation on a loop showing the children how electrical items can be reused and recycled.
‘The children really enjoyed the slide show which was positioned near the school hall where children may be queueing up to go into lunch or assemblies. We would like to thank everyone from SER for providing us with this opportunity.’
SER is hoping to bring more schools on board to adopt its Electrical Amnesty Week to continue raising awareness of the effects of e-waste.
Co-owner of the firm, David Edwards said: ‘If we educate one person on this topic, which we find is an area of recycling that isn’t widely spoken about, then we’ll have done our job. It’s a fun and interactive way for the kids to learn and it means that they’ll hopefully have a brighter future and will know how to look after the planet.’
For more information, go to www.southernelectricalrecycling.co.uk
