Eco-School tackles train station litter
26 January 2010
Talented Eco-School children with a passion for the environment have joined forces with Northern Rail and the Metro newspaper to tackle waste at railway stations.
The youngsters from Years Five and Six at Temple Primary School in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, were inspired to design anti-litter posters after speaking with passengers at Manchester Victoria Station about litter, newspapers and recycling bins.
The winning poster, designed by budding environmentalist, Hafsa Mohammed, aged nine, is now set to be displayed in Northern Rail stations across its network to encourage commuters to get on board with recycling.
Nicola Peate from Keep Britain Tidy said: "We would like to say a huge congratulations to Hafsa for designing such a fantastic poster with a great message.
"All of the children have done some brilliant designs and they should be very proud when they are sitting on tidier trains over the coming weeks!
"The fact that Northern Rail and the Metro are joining forces in a campaign that not only gets children actively involved in caring for their environment, but also provides a real solution to the problem of newspaper litter with the introduction of recycling bins is fantastic.
"Hopefully the posters will have a really positive impact at train stations and newspapers will be recycled not strewn all over the carriages."
The competition forms part of Northern Rail and Metro's continued efforts to tackle newspaper litter after they launched a poster campaign to encourage commuters to recycle their copies of Metro. Find out more here
Lee Wasnidge, Northern Rail Area Director, said: "We work hard to provide our passengers with a clean and tidy train and station environment but one of the biggest sources of litter is newspapers, often left behind after the morning commute.
"As a business we are dedicated to doing all we can to encourage recycling wherever possible and make a positive difference.
"We've been really impressed by these talented youngsters who have shown a real interest in the environment combined with an artistic flair. The posters they’ve created are vibrant and colourful, making them really eye-catching for passengers.
"They've also managed to get across a serious message about recycling in a lighthearted way - which should put a smile on everyone's faces."
Kanwal Naqvi, aged nine and Aisha Moshin, also aged nine, were named as runners-up in the poster competition.
The children spent two hours at Manchester Victoria Station on 8th December under the close supervision of Northern Rail and Urban Mines – an environmental consultancy and charity – asking commuters a range of questions about recycling and the environment.
The results revealed more than 50% of passengers read free newspapers and just under 50% left them on the train or at the station. But, alongside this, the survey also revealed the vast majority would recycle their newspapers if facilities were provided – and this has now been done with recycling bins available on platforms 4 and 5 at the station.
Ben King of Metro, who have provided recycling bins at Manchester Victoria Station for commuters to dispose of their copies of the paper, said: “We realise and recognise the problem of litter at Metro and for us it is very important to be part of the solution rather than the problem."
Temple Primary School has been an Eco-School for almost three years and has been awarded the Green Flag status twice by by Keep Britain Tidy, which runs the international eco award scheme in the UK.