Recycling in schools

Schools and recycling activities

We invite all Cheshire East schools to join the Junior Recycling Officers scheme and the Secondary Recycling Challenge. Schools can nominate up to 4 pupils from Years 4 to 6 (ideally Year 5) each year to become Junior Recycling Officers and to take forward the message ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ to school, friends and family. They get a starter pack full of information and recycled stationery from the Waste Education Officer visiting their school.

The Waste Education Officer can lead assemblies and run recycling workshops. Pupils are encouraged to present assemblies, run competitions and set up recycling schemes and collections. Supporting material linked to current recycling campaigns is provided throughout the year, via newsletters, posters and ideas for competitions. For example, recycled robots, creating recipes from leftover food and poster designs promoting recycling. 

Both schemes are open to special schools. Contact us if you would like more information about the activities we're running or would like support with your own activities.

For Primary schools

• Email: teamrecycling@cheshireeast.gov.uk
• Phone: 01270 686684

For Secondary schools

• Email: lisa.collas@ansa.co.uk
• Phone: 01606 288942

We have useful materials on the Junior Recycling Officers Resource page.

Junior Recycling Officers of the Year 2019

This years event took place on Tuesday 16 July 2019 at Reaseheath Hall

16 Junior Recycling Officers from five Cheshire East Primary Schools took part in the Junior Recycling Officers of the Year Awards Event on Tuesday 16 July 2019 at Reaseheath Hall, followed by a visit to Reaseheath Zoo. The judges were Kevin Melling, Managing Director of Ansa, Jane Thomason, Deputy Managing Director, Councillor Steven Hogben from the Ansa Board and Councillor Arthur Moran.

Junior Recycling Officers are working in 50 schools this year, with 180 officers in place (record numbers this year). The scheme has been running for nearly 20 years and is the envy of many other authorities.

Each team gave a strong presentation on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle activities in their school and linked to the wider community. Replacing five-litre plastic bottles with sachets for cleaning in school, refilling whiteboard pens when dry and exchanging milk cartons for glass bottles of milk and reusable beakers were some of the examples. All the schools collected batteries, clothes and shoes for recycling and the Junior Recycling Officers had presented information for collections and competitions in school assemblies for up to 500 pupils.

A new project with Streetscene Improvement Officers looking at flytipping and littering in Crewe was popular with the team from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Crewe. The Zoo Manager give a talk on conservation and waste management while the judges were deliberating.

The two winning schools were Bexton Primary School, Knutsford represented by Imogen, Charlotte, Rosie and Eloise and Highfields Academy, Nantwich, represented by Daisie, Jacob, Marianne and Kobie.

Other finalists who took part on the day were Alfie and Sophie from Little Bollington CE Primary School, Grace, Holly, Tilly and Alesha from Offley Primary Academy, Sandbach and Florence and Danny from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Crewe.

After lunch, there was a guided tour of Reaseheath Zoo for all finalists. 

The Awards were a shield to be held for half the year by each winning school and £150 to be spent on an environmental project of the school’s choice. All finalists received a copy of ‘The Problem with Plastic’ book and a medal. Certificates were given for:

• best recycling idea – Little Bollington CE Primary,
• best composting – Bexton Primary,
• best community involvement - St Mary’s Catholic Primary, Crewe,
• best change in school – Offley Academy,
• best plastic reduction – Highfields Academy.