This year St Mary’s have embarked on the challenge of becoming a ‘Plastic Free School’. This is a pupil-led, ground-breaking programme that equips young people with the tools to understand the problems of single-use plastic, speak to politicians and eliminate unnecessary single-use plastic from their schools, for good.
Eco Club has played a vital role in working through all of the objectives to achieve this status, from forming an action group to carrying out a high-energy clean-up of the school playground. They shared our findings with their local MP Peter Kyle, via letter, who has challenged government on our behalf. Via Twitter, they challenged the big brands of the plastic pollution found in the school playground. All of this hard work has led them to raise awareness and eliminate three plastic items from their school community. These plastic items are; glitter, plastic cups and single use plastic for food items in class snack boxes.
St Marys eco-lead says ‘Plastic is having a huge impact on the environment, especially marine life. It is important that as a school community we make changes and strive to embed a plastic free legacy within the school.’