Tongue pupils write to King Charles in successful campaign for soft plastics recycling facility
Pupils at Tongue Primary School have succeeded in their campaign to provide soft plastics recycling facilities in the village.
The environmentally conscious pupils took action after discovering that local residents could only recycle soft plastics by dropping them off at the Co-op or Tesco in Thurso, which is an hour’s drive away.
And the youngsters went straight to the top - writing letters to local government officials, to Sutherland MP Jamie Stone and even to King Charles!
Principal teacher Dee Roberts said the campaign was sparked during a discussion at a whole-school eco meeting about the new recycling bins provided in the area.
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She said: “The children had made local bin calendars and we were sorting rubbish into different bins but they were upset that they could not recycle soft plastics in Tongue.
“This upset then turned to outrage about how bad this was for the environment and so we thought about what we could do. The children then decided to start a soft plastics campaign to get our own soft plastics recycling facilities, so we started writing letters!”
In a written response, the King’s office said that he, a lifelong environmentalist, was “especially heartened by your enthusiasm for recycling”, and passed on his warmest good wishes to everyone at the school.
However, it was Jamie Stone who helped the children find a solution. He contacted Tesco and the Co-op in Thurso on their behalf, asking if they would install a soft plastics repository at the school and then collect it.
Ms Roberts continued: “The Co-op has been very helpful and has dropped off our very own cage in the playground where we can collect all our soft plastics for recycling.
“When our bins are full we just email or phone them to arrange a collection. They then take the plastics to Inverness and Glasgow so they can be recycled.
“The children are just delighted with this outcome and are happy that their campaign has led to a real, small change for climate action in Tongue.”
