Jump to it! Pupils take first place in challenge to recycle clothes
A CYNON Valley primary school has won the top prize in a county-wide recycling challenge - by collecting the equivalent of 307 school jumpers.
St Margaret’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Aberdare has been announced as the winner of Rhondda Cynon Taf council’s challenge, set in September, to collect as much school uniform as possible to be recycled or re-used.
The total amount of uniform collected was then calculated in line with the number of pupils at the participating school to find the overall winner.
The Aberdare youngsters collected 139,500g - the equivalent of more than 300 jumpers.
Second in the competition was SS Gabriel & Raphael Roman Catholic Primary School in Tonypandy, and third was Llwyncelyn Infants School, Porth. A total of 21 schools took part across RCT, and 1,074,750g - or 2,369 jumpers - was collected overall.
The excellent efforts of St Margaret’s pupils have earned their school £300.
Councillor Ann Crimmings, RCT cabinet member for environment, leisure and culture, said: “Congratulations must go to the pupils of all the 21 schools across RCT that took part in the competition. They collected an unprecedented amount that has resulted in over 1000kg of potential waste being re-used, recycled and successfully diverted from landfill.
“The pupils have shown a real enthusiasm for recycling and understand why it is so important. We plan to hold a similar competi- tion over the Christmas holidays and are asking all schools to get on board, by recycling their Christmas cards.
“Recycling should now be a vital part of all our lives. As we run out of space for our waste, we have to do all we can to ensure we reduce what we throw away, re-use what we can and recycle at every opportunity.”
“We all need to do our bit and show we love where we live and take pride in our area - together we can make a difference as these school pupils have shown.”