Buckland Newton Primary School looks at green issues (From Dorset Echo)

Buckland Newton Primary School looks at green issues

10:45am Monday 1st March 2010 in

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A PLASTIC bag amnesty helped Buckland Newton Primary School pupils learn the importance of being green.

The youngsters saved up thousands of bags as part of their eco-schools award and donated them to Tesco to be properly disposed of.

Representatives from the Dorchester branch of the supermarket gave pupils a Bag for Life each to get them into recycling from an early age.

Store manager Trevor Henstridge said: “Visiting schools is part of the community quadrant of what we do.

“Every year we’re trying to reduce the number of carrier bags people use.

“We want the pupils to take home a Bag for Life to their mums and dads and to try and encourage them to use them.”

Years four and five teacher Simon Mullen said children have been learning about the importance of ‘reducing, reusing and recycling’.

He said pupils had been writing letters about the damage plastic bags can do to sea turtles.

“They picked up on the fact that sea turtles can accidentally eat plastic bags because they mistake them for jellyfish.

“We wrote to four of the supermarkets in the area asking them to help.

“We’re now going for our bronze eco-award and want to eventually get the top one, which is green.

“Each class has been given a different area to focus on.”

Some 105 Bags for Life were given out by Tesco community champion Val Igglesden and staff member Margaret Parkes.

Mr Henstridge added: “We want the pupils to know that the bags are stronger and once they’ve got one it’s truly a Bag for Life.

“We’re trying to make it worthwhile for people to re-use their bags by offering them green Clubcard points every time they reuse a bag.”