Children and staff at Henry Green Primary School in Dagenham have collected a whopping 5,000 batteries in a bid to recycle them and prevent fires.
The school’s Green Team, who lead on sustainability initiatives, were so shocked to learn that a battery was the cause of a fire in one of Barking and Dagenham Council’s bin trucks that they sprang into action.
The council’s Cleaner, Greener campaign calls on residents to recycle batteries and never put them in the bin.
Henry Green pupils have gone one step further, by collecting batteries as part of Duracell’s Big Battery Hunt and then recycling them through Cancer Research UK to raise vital funds for the charity.
Councillor Kashif Haroon, Cabinet Member for Public Realm and Climate Change, visited the school’s Green Team and School Parliament ahead of Global Recycling Day to thank them for their efforts.
He told the pupils: “I am so impressed by the work you are doing to make our borough cleaner and greener.
“Thank you for helping your friends and family to recycle and get rid of rubbish the right way.
“Please keep on spreading the message that we must look after where we live, and together we can make a real difference.”
The children enjoyed the opportunity to ask Councillor Haroon questions about his role and find out more about what the council is doing to make the borough cleaner and greener.
And Councillor Haroon was impressed to discover that the battery recycling initiative was just one of many amazing things the Green Team do to promote sustainability.
The team, led by teacher Ms Louise Gentry, shared a presentation of the work that earned them an Eco Schools Green Flag with Distinction. These projects include:
• swapping second-hand books
• sharing pre-loved school uniform
• composting (the team worked with Barking and Dagenham Council’s Waste Minimisation Team)
• growing their own produce (this was sold at Barking market to raise funds for charity and shared with parents on Fridays after school for six weeks)
• promoting energy-saving
• litter-picking school grounds and surrounding areas
• developing an eco-code (sustainability rules for the school).