'Talking trash' pays off for Dame Alice Owen School

Pupils from Dame Alice Owen School in Potters Bar won £250 for their school by dressing in green and talking trash for the day to highlight the impact of waste to fellow pupils and members of the public.

The 29 geography students from year 9 dumped their school uniforms for a day to spread the important message to reduce, reuse and recycle. The idea was to educate people on the three Rs when they asked them why they were wearing green. The pupils kept tally cards to see how many people asked them and staggeringly over 600 people, including members of the public who saw them on their way to and from school, enquired about their dress and therefore received information on reducing waste with the three Rs.

All their efforts were part of the school's entry to a county-wide competition run by Hertfordshire WasteAware in which they came joint-third winning the school £250. Each pupil got a certificate - see attached photo.

The pupils also made a short DVD to show good practice and promote recycling in all aspects of school life. The DVD was showed in a lower school assembly to explain and increase awareness of the three Rs among 11 to 14 year olds. The students' campaign also reached an international audience as the project coincided with a German student exchange so some of the green wearers were hosting Germans and therefore passed on WasteAware's message to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Earlier this year, WasteAware commissioned CragRats Education, a theatre group, to put on an environmental play, ‘Talking Trash’, to year 8 and 9 students in Hertfordshire Secondary schools. The schools that received the play were entitled to take part in the competition which required the students to set up projects to promote the three Rs message to the rest of their school, friends and families. The projects were judged on the effectiveness of the idea, the management and success of the project and the understanding shown by the pupils.

Steve Burton, Head of Waste and Street Scene at Hertsmere Borough Council and chair of the WasteAware group said: "All the entries were of a very high standard which was great news as it means young people across and borough and county are taking the issue of reducing waste very seriously and are passionate about improving the environment. We really liked the creativeness of the project submitted by Dame Alice Owen School and all 29 pupils showed a sound understanding of the issues around reducing, reusing and recycling."