Primary pupils scoop prizes for anti-litter campaign

Caring and creative, Sean Hughes of Bankhead Primary School, has won £600 worth of prizes in an anti-litter banner design competition.

Sean of P7/6 bagged the prize for his school after designing the winning entry in the competition run by city's Environmental Task Force. He will now see his poster emblazoned on a banner to be erected at the Knightswood school urging people to take pride in their community and to bin their rubbish.

The Caldwell Street school has also won two planters made from recycled wood by Community Safety Glasgow as well as a fantastic Handicart and litter picking kit donated by Helping Hand Environmental. Sean won himself a cycle helmet, bike lights, other cycling accessories, a football and colouring pens.

Four other schools from the Drumchapel and Garscadden areas which took part in the competition have also won 15 litter pickers and kit bags costing around £150 each. They are Knightswood Secondary School, Yoker Primary, St Clare's Primary and Corpus Christi Primary.

Almost 300 entries were received from schools in the Drumchapel and Garscadden areas. The contest was funded by the local area partnership via the Integrated Grants Fund.

Councillor Frank McAveety, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of the Environmental Task Force, congratulated the pupils on their fantastic posters.

He said: “All the posters were brilliant and I’d like to thank the schools for taking part. Special congratulations to Sean for creating the winning design and taking the top prize. I know about all the hard work that schools do around sustainability and the environment and it is great to see the city’s young people spreading the message that it is never OK to drop litter. Well done to everyone who took part and for supporting the work of the Environmental Task Force."

Glasgow's Environmental Task Force was launched last June and in it's first six months, staff removed almost 3000 tons of rubbish which had been dropped in the city and almost 12 acres of graffiti. The Task Force has also enhanced 500 sites and removed 14,000 fly-tipping incidents. During the same period, the city's pupils also carried out 500 litter picks in and around their schools.

Alistair Burnage of Helping Hand Environmental said: "As a business who pride ourselves in supporting community engagement initiatives across Scotland. We are extremely honoured to be involved in this competition which recognises and inspires young people to keep their local environment clean; highlighting the instrumental work of the Environmental Task Force."

Caption: Councillor Frank McAveety is pictured with Sean and his winning design.