On Monday (June 16), Henry Smith MP joined local pupils from Waterfield Primary School whotook a stand in the Houses of Parliament and presented their ideas on tackling plastic waste as part of the Wastebuster Primary Earth Summit.
The event, which brought together policy makers, Members of Parliament, EU Commission Representatives, plastics industry, NGOs, charities, scientists and the media to hear from children who presented their ideas to help reduce plastic waste.
Supporting local school, Waterfield Primary School, Henry said:
“I was very proud of the Waterfield School children who presented their plan to reduce plastic waste and encourage recycling to the Primary Earth Summit 2014 in Parliament. They represent the future of Crawley and it’s in good hands.”
Beginning in May, Waterfield Primary School joined other primary and secondary schools across England to explore and design practical solutions for plastic waste minimisation across four categories: Education and Awareness; Collection System Improvement; Marine Environment; and Product Design & Innovation. After inviting idea/solution submissions from over 18,000+ schools, they were shortlisted to the last 20 schools who all demonstrated the most compelling solutions to be presented in national Parliament so that the voices and ideas of these students, could be heard by a panel of politicians, scientists, NGOs and industry leaders.
Winning schools ideas will be developed and refined with the aid of Summit partners and supporters, and promoted nationally through the Earth Summit partner school network, which comprises more than half the schools in England. Plans to replicate these solutions and others in schools across the European Union are also underway.
The Primary Earth Summit was a satellite event of the annual European Green Week, which took place this year on 3rd-5th June and focused on the 2014 theme of waste management practices and more efficient utilization of EU resources. A key goal is to identify and implement sustainable, closed loop solutions that support circular economy development in which nearly all waste materials are reused, recycled or recovered. The ultimate aim of the Primary Earth Summit is to promote the idea of plastic waste as a precious resource that must be managed responsibly, and to encourage youth leadership of community-led waste reduction efforts.
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