Four local schools have been awarded for their efforts with battery recycling in Caerphilly County Borough.
The annual battery recycling initiative, in partnership with European Recycling Platform, involves pupils bringing used household batteries into school for recycling, helping to keep them out of the waste stream.
All participating schools compete with other schools in the borough to win exciting prizes at a special award ceremony at the end of the school year.
This year’s competition proved to be fiercely competitive with over one tonne of batteries recycled, however Cwmaber Juniors, Ysgol Penalltau, Libanus Primary and Ty Isaf Infants Schools came out on top and were announced the winners.
Each winning school won £100 in Amazon vouchers, with Cwmaber Juniors winning an additional £100 Amazon for having the largest weight, with their recycled batteries coming in at 92 kilograms.
In the UK, around 40,000 tonnes of portable batteries were sold in 2020, with only around 18,000 tonnes being recycled. Batteries can contain harmful chemicals, so should always be disposed of correctly.
Councillor Chris Morgan, Cabinet Member for Waste said: “It is great to see our local schools getting involved in this initiative. During my visit to the winning schools I was impressed by the children’s enthusiasm for recycling and we had a great discussion about food waste.
“This initiative is just one of the ways that we can all be making small steps to reduce, reuse and recycle, helping towards our goal to be net carbon neutral by 2030. Well done to our winners, and I look forward to seeing what next year’s initiative will bring.”
