Exmouth primary school gifted bench made from recycled plastic

Bottles, drums, crates, and nets were amongst the junk collected from beaches to make the bench for Withycombe Raleigh Primary School.

The plastic was then sent to Devon Contract Waste who mixed it with other recycled plastics and created the bench.

It’s all part of the Waste Education Programme developed by Devon County Council (DCC) and Resource Futures and helped by Keep Britain Tidy’s Ocean Recovery Project, which aims to highlight plastic pollution and the role of the local circular economy.

The Beach Day was one of the first of its kind run by the DCC-funded Waste Education Team and included a sustainable fishing activity which highlighted the environmental impacts of different fishing methods.

Pupils also took part in a discussion and quiz around the impact of plastic in our oceans and what we can all do to reduce it.

The idea to donate the bench came from the Ocean Recovery Project and Devon Contract Waste, who have been working together to find recycling solutions for beach plastics across the South-West.

Emma Jones, headteacher of Withycombe Raleigh Primary School, said: “We are delighted with our wonderful new bench and grateful to the Ocean Recovery Project for donating it to our school.

“We are very proud of the efforts our Year 5 children made during their beach clean and it is wonderful that some of the waste they collected has been reused to create something useful and that can be enjoyed by the whole school.

“Our children are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of plastic on our environment and are keen to make a difference both at home and school.”

Next summer the Waste Education Team will be offering Beach Days to schools in Devon as part of the Waste Education Programme.

Find out more on their website http://zone.recycledevon.org. Schools which want to be involved in future Beach Days can contact the Waste Education Team by emailing alex.mack@resourcefutures.co.uk.