Schools across Solihull went head to head recently in the Toy Amnesty Schools Challenge, jointly organised by The Appliance Recycling Group and Solihull Zero Wasters. The competition challenged pupils to complete a ‘treasure hunt’ and bring in old toys from their homes, to either be recycled or re-used.
In total eleven schools took part in the challenge, collecting an impressive 113kg worth of toys. Blossomfield Infant School came out on top with a remarkable haul of 27kg, followed by Langley Primary School in 2nd place, just pipping Monkspath Junior School in 3rd place.
The challenge was to raise awareness of recycling and reusing electrical equipment. Any toy with a battery, plug or USB charging point could be brought in to contribute towards each school’s total. As an extra incentive for those taking part, there was a £300 prize for the winning school.
Councillor Andy Mackiewicz, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Climate Change, Planning & Housing, said:
“Congratulations to all the school pupils who took part in this challenge and collected such a significant amount of toys for a worthy cause. It’s inspiring to see the generosity shown by the children and their contributions will make a real positive difference to future users of the recycled and re-used items.
“The children who took part have set a fine example of what a circular economy looks like in practice. We now need to apply this way of thinking more regularly in our everyday lives. By recycling and reusing more, we can prolong the life cycle of many unwanted items and collectively reduce the carbon footprint of Solihull.”
James Farmer of the Appliance Recycling Group, said:
“I am so incredibly proud of the schools and the children that participated in the Toy Amnesty Treasure Hunt, to collect more than 100kg is brilliant. It is important to remember whilst the project ran for six weeks, parents can still drop broken electricals off to Bickenhill Recycling Centre. Working but unwanted toys should always be donated to local charity shops. We remain committed to this project and we’ll run this as an annual event. We really look forward to seeing what Blossomfield Infants achieve with the extra £300 sustainability prize money they have just won!”