Pinhoe school pupils to learn about waste and recycling

School children from Pinhoe Primary School, Exeter, will be visiting their local recycling centre on Monday 11th February to find out what happens to our waste.

The group of 8 to 11 year olds will be at the award-winning Pinbrook Road Recycling Centre to learn what happens to paper, glass, cans, plastic and other recycling when it is brought into the site, where it goes and how it is made into new items.

The Centre opened in June 2011 to provide a second recycling centre in Exeter as the existing one in Marsh Barton was reaching capacity. The Pinbrook centre provides a site in closer proximity to approximately 64,000 residents than existing facilities.

The state-of-the-art facility recycles around 83% of all the waste brought in. As well as the usual facilities to recycle things such as glass, paper, garden waste and plastic bottles, residents can also dispose of carpets, mattresses and bulky plastics for recycling.

The children will also be learning about the green heating and hot water system for the site buildings made possible by a recycled wood-chip boiler and solar panels, a rainwater harvesting system for use in flushing site toilets, a sustainable drainage system and low-energy lighting.

Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Communities says, “I think this is a good opportunity for the children to visit what is their closest recycling facility and so can see first hand what happens to their household waste. If we can educate youngsters about the importance of recycling and also reducing the amount of waste we produce, this helps them develop good habits as they get older so I really welcome trips such as these.”

Councillor Saxon Spence, local member for Pinhoe and Mincinglake says, “I am delighted that local children are having the chance to learn about our state-of-the-art recycling centre. It will help them to understand how much can be recycled and hopefully spread the word so that local families realise what a great asset we have at Pinbrook.”

Exeter City Councillor Moira Macdonald, from the Pinbrook Road Recycling Centre liaison group says, “From the start I was impressed by how closely Devon County officers and councillors worked with the local community and City councillors. Now even people who at first opposed having the Centre know what a low impact it has on their local environment. Importantly too, waste properly dealt with avoids risks to biodiversity. Bird and bat boxes and wildlife woodpiles were put in between the building and the mainline railway, which itself is a nature highway through Pinhoe. I’m proud to have such a proactive, environmentally friendly recycling centre in the ward.”

The Pinbrook Road Recycling Centre won the prestigious national ‘Civic Amenity Site of the Year’ award in the 2012 ‘Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management’ organised by letsrecycle.com