From their ABCs to the 3Rs

SCHOOLCHILDREN in Pwll have been learning about the 3Rs and why it is important to reduce, reuse and recycle their rubbish.

A fun workshop was held at the school to teach pupils why recycling is important for the environment and to reduce the impact of climate change.

Delivered by ADA Recycling Training and aimed at primary school aged pupils, it follows a set lesson plan and reinforces the work being done as part of the Eco Schools programme.

As well as being educational, there is lots of classroom interaction, and activities such as quizzes.

Pupils look at what things they can recycle in school, what they are made of and how they can be recycled into new products.

Headteacher Paul Trotman said: “The children really enjoyed the workshops, particularly testing their own knowledge in the quiz. This helped them realise the importance of recycling and made them more aware of their responsibility to care for the environment. All in all, it was a very rewarding and important experience for the pupils, on their journey to become global citizens.”

ADA Recycling Training work with the council’s waste and recycling section to make sure the workshops are relevant.

A Local Environmental Quality grant was secured through Tidy Towns from Welsh Government to pay for the workshops to be delivered to 10 schools in Carmarthenshire.

Executive Board Member for Technical Services Cllr Colin Evans said: “There is a lot of good work going in our schools to educate young people on environmental issues particularly recycling.

“These workshops are an excellent way of teaching our children, encouraging them to get involved and have fun at the same time.

“Hopefully they will pass on these messages to their parents at home and help us increase our recycling rates even further.”

Carmarthenshire is currently recycling around 54% of its rubbish but must increase the figure in future years to meet Welsh Government targets. The next statutory target is 58% by 2015/16.

Tony Davies from ADA Recycling Training said: “We have delivered our training to over 340 primary schools in the South Wales area. The workshops are designed for the children to have fun while learning the importance of recycling and how they can contribute and help sustain our environment.”