FIRST YOUNG VISITORS START LEARNING AT NEW RECYCLING EDUCATION CENTRE

22 September 2006

Children from Edith Neville and Gospel Oak primary schools were the first to try out a brand new education space that explores the world of recycling this week.

The pupils, aged 7 to 10 years, spent a morning (19 September) at Camden Council’s new Recycling Education and Activities Centre at Regis Road. The space has been created so that school and community groups can learn more about how recycling works and what they can do to help their local environment.

The pupils took part in a session to understand what happens to the products we use in our daily lives after they’ve been put in the recycling bin at home or school for collection, and what they can be turned into. Much of the education centre’s furniture is itself made from recycled plastic - for example the tables were industrial plastics in a previous life and some of the chairs were previously plastic bottles.

The children decorated cotton reusable bags with environmentally themed pictures, played a sorting game to recognise the different types of things that can be recycled, and toured the Regis Road site. The education centre will also soon offer interactive computer facilities, which children can use to discuss recycling with pupils in other countries.

Cllr Mike Greene, Executive Member for Environment, Camden Council said:

“This is a great way for young people to learn about recycling, making it lively and fun as well as educational. Children from schools and community groups in the borough can come along and find out what we all can do to help our local environment, and how easy it is to reduce, reuse and recycle our waste.”

Annabelle Ledford-Jobson, Learning Mentor at Edith Neville Primary School said:

“The children had an amazing morning, it’s a well thought through education centre which will evolve and develop as more groups see what’s on offer. David from the Camden Environment team led an excellent interactive session, which held the children’s attention. There was lots to see and touch which made recycling really come alive for the children. The children from Edith Neville’s Environmental Team learned lots of new facts and grasped new ideas about recycling to share with the school. We have ‘green’ representatives in each year who advise their classmates and also give the teachers a few tips - they have made sure we have a recycling bin in the staff room. It’s a privilege to have such a vital resource in Camden and we will be visiting again in the future.”

Both Edith Neville and Gospel Oak primary schools recycle plastic, cans and paper - Edith Neville saved the equivalent of 21 trees and Gospel Oak 33 trees through their recycling activities last academic year.

The final elements of the Regis Road Recycling Centre’s refurbishment are due to be completed by the start of 2007. This will include improvements to the public areas, including extra recycling containers for items such as wood and a one-way system to make it easier to drive in and out. Since the start of the month, residents have been able to take their bulky household waste, such as furniture and carpets, to the centre again.

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