Knockbreck knocks waste on the head
Knockbreck Primary is winning in the battle against waste. Based on the number of bins and collections, the Tain primary school, which has 124 pupils, has the lowest volume of waste produced per pupil of all the schools in the Highland Council area.
The low level of waste produced by the school was brought to attention by Highland Council Waste Operatives, George Amos, Derek Welsh and John Duff who crew the refuse lorry for Round 2 which covers the Tain and Invergordon areas.
George Amos said: “It was very obvious when we came to do our regular collection that the school was putting out much less waste than any other school in the area. This was not just a one off but each time we visited we commented on how little waste there was to collect. It was so noticeable we mentioned it to the Waste Awareness team who have been visiting the school.”
To recognise the hard work of staff and pupils The Highland Council Waste Recycling Mascot, Compost the Cow paid a visit to the school to thank the young people for their efforts.
Like householders in the area, the school has a fortnightly kerbside collection for waste paper. However, even before paper reaches the recycling bins pupils ensure that it is first used on both sides and all classrooms have scrap paper trays. Plastic bottles and cardboard are set aside and taken to Tain Recycling Centre. The pupils also collect printer cartridges, old mobile phones and plastic milk bottle caps, all of which help to raise money for charity as well as cutting down on waste.
Raw fruit and vegetable waste is composted and under its ‘Big Garden’ project and the school is developing a vegetable patch and a sensory garden. They have also applied to the Tain Common Good Fund for assistant to develop an area of the school grounds for community use. In addition the pupils have been actively collecting the Morrisons ‘Let’s Grow’ vouchers and have been able to buy gardening equipment which has been put to good use in planting bulbs and native trees and shrubs around the school.
The P1 – P3 pupils have also recently staged a play called ‘Litter Munchers’, highlighting recycling issues to parents and the rest of the school.
Knockbreck, which has already obtained its Bronze and Silver Eco-School awards, is aiming, under the leadership of its ‘Teamgreen’, to achieve its first Green Flag by the summer.
P7 pupil, Nadia McDonald, Chairperson for Teamgreen says, “It just goes to show that Knockbreck’s not a load of rubbish and we would like to thank everyone in the school who has helped us achieve this goal.”