School Poster Competition

FREE Voucher and Schools Pack for each school that participates

The competition is used to promote the desire for a better environment for today and tomorrow.  This is tied in with the shared vision for Wychavon to be a safe, green, healthy and beautiful district that is a vibrant and creative place for everyone to live, work and visit.

This year’s competition focused on “Waste Prevention” (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle).  We want to encourage Wychavon’s young people to care for the environment.  Waste prevention, when applied, provides a practical way to make a positive difference.  We want children and young people to think about the impact we all have on the environment and to consider some practical ways through waste prevention that we can make a difference.  We are keen to find out how they would encourage others to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

We want to support schools as they work towards becoming ‘Sustainable Schools’ and help schools achieve their green flag Eco Schools award (for more information on Eco Schools go to www.eco-schools.org.uk or contact 01905 766378).  So this year we gave each participating school a FREE Voucher to spend at w.r.e www.wre.uk.com and a Waste Prevention Pack.

The 1st prize winner in each category also won £200 for their school/college which is to be used as part of an environmental project.  Each age group had a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize, consisting of vouchers and a goodie bag donated by local organisations and businesses.

The Prize Giving Evening for all winners was held on the 4th February 2008 at the Civic Centre in Pershore.  The winning posters have been displayed in the Evesham, Droitwich and Pershore Community Contact Centres.  You can see all the prize winning entries by clicking on our 2007/08 winning posters page.

Do not forget to look out for our next competition, details will be released after September 2008.

Criteria for entering was:

• The poster competition is open to all children attending schools/colleges in Wychavon district
• The applicant will be entered into the relevant age/year group
  • 4-8 year olds (Reception – Year 3)
  • 9-13 year olds (Year 4 – Year 8)
  • 14-18 year olds (Year 9 – Year 12)
• All entries must comply with the brief given below
• All entries must be in by 12 noon on Friday 18 January 2008

Schools Poster Competition Brief

Design a poster to encourage people to think about ‘Waste Prevention’

• Very important, please ensure that the artist’s NAME, AGE and SCHOOL are written clearly on the back of each poster entry
• Size – A4 only
• Two-dimensional designs only i.e. pencils, inks, paints, chalks, crayons, markers, pastels, torn paper or fabric etc
• The design can be full colour or black and white
• Only one entry per child
• The posters can be done in school or as a home activity
• Have fun and we look forward to seeing them

Supporting Information on Waste Prevention

Why reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill?

• Benefits the physical environment
• Reduces the amount of greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere (decaying waste produces methane) which effects global warming
• If materials are recycled valuable nature resources are preserved
• It requires less energy and is cheaper to produce goods from recycled materials than starting from scratch with raw natural materials

How can you reduce?

• Consider what you buy.  Do you need or want this item?  A third of the food we buy in the UK ends up being thrown away!  www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
• Try to buy things with less packaging
• Check out the no joking page on our website

How can you reuse?

• Use reusable containers and bags
• Pass things on you don’t want any more to a charity shop or through freecycle

Recycle!

• all you can, by using our home recycling collection service or recycling banks
• Do you know you can compost kitchen peelings, tea bags, egg shells, garden waste, paper and card?
• Complete the circle and buy recycled goods
• Buy second hand items where possible

For more information about waste prevention look on the Worcestershire Hub's Mission Impossible website www.wastemissionimpossible.org.uk and recycle now website www.recyclenow.com

Wychavon and Recycling

• We operate a household recycling collection to 94% of households using;
  • purple sacks which are collected one week for paper, lightweight card and textiles
  • clear sacks are collected the next week for plastic bottles, aluminium foil and cans
  • A box for glass is collected on alternate weeks
  • Recycling banks; you can take glass, paper, cans, textiles, shoes and books to your local recycling banks (not every recycling site can take all these items)
• There is more information about these services on our website under Refuse and Recycling / Recycling Centres

Sponsorship

The 2007/2008 competition received sponsorship from a number of local businesses and organisations including:

• Smart Cut Ltd
• Property Care Partnership Ltd
• FOCSA Services (UK) Ltd
• Worcestershire County Council
• Severn Waste Services Ltd
• PD Hughes Ltd, Landscape Contractors
• Ogles Chemist, Pershore
• Maxine's Book Shop
• Wybone Ltd
• Co-op
• Jutexpo Ltd
• Mitie Cleaning & Support Services

If you would like more information about the poster competition please contact Denise Ditchburn on 01386 565197, Monday - Friday 9am-5pm or E-mail denise.ditchburn@wychavon.gov.uk

Additional Information for an Anti Litter Project

• 'Keeping Wychavon Clean' is one of our highest priorities.  It is part of the shared vision for Wychavon to be a safe, green, healthy and beautiful district that is a vibrant and creative place for everyone to live, work and visit
• An estimated £1million will be spent on street cleaning this financial year - this works out at £9.52 per head of population
• We estimate we will collect over 1500 tonnes (equal to 333 elephants) of litter and street sweepings in the year which will all go into landfill
• Fines for dropping litter can be given under the new ‘Clean Neighbourhood Act 2006'

What are the problems?

• General litter - sweet and crisp wrappers, drinks bottles and cans
• Fast food/take-away waste
• Chewing gum – it costs £15,000 to clear gum from our streets
• Smoking related litter (butts and matches)
• Dog fouling (pooh)

What should we be doing with this waste?

• Use one of the 740 litter bins provided around the district
• Take litter home and dispose of correctly with your refuse or recycling
• Recycle clean paper, cans and plastic bottles through our home collection schemes or at one of Wychavon’s recycling banks
• Dog waste can be put in one of the 321 dog waste bins around the district

For more information contact:

Client Services
Wychavon District Council
Telephone 01386 565018 - between 9am-5pm, Monday -Friday
Email: client.services@wychavon.gov.uk