Crowthorne and Sandhurst

Pupils at Oaklands Infant School in Crowthorne are planning a concerted effort at recycling after Wokingham District Council chairman Cllr Iain Brown ‘unveiled’ a new wheelie bin.

Visiting the Crowthorne school last week (Monday March 20) to celebrate over 1,000 tonnes of green household waste collected by the district council, the chairman was asked by staff and pupils to officially ‘open’ a new paper recycling bin. Secured for the school by the council’s procurement staff, as part of an initiative to encourage schools to recycle, the new wheelie bin is for paper only and will be collected by contractors SITA for recycling.

Crowthorne Oaklands Infant School head teacher Julie Sheppard said: “The children are delighted with our new bin. We’ve really been concentrating on recycling recently, with a talk by the council’s waste and recycling manager, joining the council to celebrate their success in green waste collection and now this new bin which the chairman kindly unveiled for us.

“Everyone is really keen to increase the amount we recycle, learn about the environment and help protect it for the future.”

Council chairman Cllr Iain Brown said: “I was thrilled to see all the children take such an interest in recycling. It bodes well for the future that we have a generation so excited about helping to protect the environment. I’m sure that the new bin will be a real boost to the school’s recycling aims.”

The council’s procurement team is encouraging all schools to recycle through waste contractors SITA. Around half of the district council’s schools now have dedicated paper recycling bins which are collected regularly by SITA for a small cost. SITA can keep track of the amount collected, so that schools are able to record how much they’ve recycled.

Schools wishing to find out more about dedicated recycling bins should contact contracts officer Matt Gooderham on (0118) 974 6230.

Wokingham District Council