Schoolchildren tackle climate change with milk carton swap
Young community champions wanting to save the planet are celebrating after scrapping milk carton waste at their school.
"Passionate" pupils at Codsall's Lane Green First School convinced their milk supplier to swap cartons destined for landfill with recyclable plastic bottles.
They are now planning to take their campaign to Westminster and will write to government officials as part of their mission to tackle climate change.
Governor Annette Lloyd, of the eco-schools committee formed of pupils from reception to year 4, said: "They are very passionate about the environment and that this small change they have made is going to have such an impact.
"We have got to educate the young people - we are at crisis point with climate change and losing so many species.
"We have to focus that education so they grow up caring about the world around them and wanting to help save the planet."
Milk cartons are delivered to the Bilbrook Road school as part of the government's milk subsidy scheme.
The scheme subsidises the cost of milk, certain milk products and yoghurts for schoolchildren across England - with pupils at Lane Green First School getting one third of a pint of milk free.
Children on the committee decided to lobby for change after realising the potential devastating effects of sending waste to landfill during the school's Waste Week last month.
Mrs Lloyd said: "They started discussing the fact that cartons and plastic straws can't be recycled and are going into landfill.
"They have 50 cartons every day - if every primary schools had 50 every day, that means five million each week is going into landfill."
Mrs Lloyd spoke to the dairy which delivers the milk on behalf of the children, but was told there was not enough government funding to replace plastic straw with paper ones.
But the children now have milk delivered in four-pint plastic milk bottles, which can be recycled, and drink it out of re-usable cups without straws.
They are now calling on their peers across Codsall to join their campaign, with pupils at St Nicholas' CE First School the first on board.
Letters have also been penned, which will be sent to the Department of Health and the Department for Education.
Mrs Lloyd added: "They are very proactive. They come up with some brilliant ideas. I'm so proud of then."
