Surrey schools take home £6,000 thanks to Rethink Waste

Six Surrey schools have been awarded a total of £6,000 as part of the Rethink Waste scheme, Surrey Environment Partnership’s (SEP) initiative aimed at encouraging Surrey residents to reduce what they waste.

The prize money will fund various environmental projects at the winning schools, including building a home for school guinea pigs, installing a green roof, creating raised beds, developing class gardens, building a bug hotel, and purchasing litter-picking equipment.

Earlier this year, 32 schools across Surrey joined the scheme, which allowed nearly 10,000 Rethink Waste members to donate points to them that they earned by participating in waste reduction activities. The schools with the highest number of donated points were awarded cash prizes to invest in environmental improvements. The winning schools were:

•                  Furzefield Primary and Nursery School, Merstham

•                  Northmead Junior School, Guildford

•                  Clandon C of E School, Guildford

•                  Bagshot Infant School

•                  Walton-on-the-Hill Primary School, Tadworth

Katharine Kothe, a teacher at Furzefield Primary and Nursery School (pictured in attached image), said: “Participating in Rethink Waste was a fantastic way to get our wider school community involved in choosing to follow a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. It was easy to take part and donate points, but also full of amazing suggestions that were easy to implement in daily life. The emails and support for teachers behind the scenes were wonderful, as was the competition element as it helped us strive to be number one.

I didn’t realise how competitive our school community was until another school overtook us, Furzefield really rallied to reach the top and we were astounded by the community involvement and support! We are extremely grateful to have received £1,500 and our Eco Committee are excited to spend it on furthering our work to improve the environment for our school and the local area.”

Cllr Marisa Heath, Chair of SEP, commented: “We are delighted to see these Surrey schools benefit from the Rethink Waste scheme. The funds will support a range of fantastic projects that will enhance their local environments. Importantly, the schools are also helping us engage Surrey residents, with nearly 10,000 households signing up to Rethink Waste and learning how to reduce waste for the benefit of the planet.”

A further 15 primary schools in Surrey have signed up to take part in Rethink Waste with members able to donate points to them until 17 November 2024.

About Rethink Waste

Rethink Waste, delivered by SEP in collaboration with Greenredeem, is a free waste-reduction scheme for all Surrey residents. Members receive weekly content such as quizzes, videos, and pledges, offering tips and tools to help them cut down on waste. By completing activities, participants earn points that can be used to enter prize draws or donated to charities and local primary schools. Residents can sign up online.

To date, 8,914 households in Surrey have signed up to the scheme, completing nearly 120,000 activities, entering over 25,000 prize draws, and making more than 10,000 donations to charities and schools. Since the scheme launched, Surrey schools have been awarded £17,000 that have been invested in environmental improvements.

About Surrey Environment Partnership

The Surrey Environment Partnership, composed of Surrey County Council and the 11 district and borough councils in the county, is dedicated to managing Surrey’s waste in the most efficient, sustainable manner possible. To learn more, please visit surreyep.org.uk

About Greenredeem

Greenredeem is an environmental behaviour change pioneer. They provide digital engagement platforms and initiatives designed to inspire sustainable changes, including a personalised carbon tracker. Visit greenredeem.co.uk for more information.

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