Pupils give plastic the sack with school ban

IT is a controversial issue which has divided businesses and environmentalists.

But pupils have decided to take the thorny issue of plastic carrier bag usage into their own hands by banning them from their school.

The youngsters at Sighthill Primary have even taken it a step further by designing and producing their own eco-friendly bags, meaning there is now no excuse for pupils to bring in plastic bags.

The children were inspired to take action after reading a newspaper story earlier this year about a whale which had washed up on the shore of the Isle of Mull, and was discovered to have ingested 23 plastic carrier bags.

They were so appalled by what had happened that they were spurred into action.

With the help of P3 teacher Miss Peat, they secured a 300 grant from the Waste Action Grant Programme to produce 200 eco-friendly cloth bags.

Every pupil in the school also took part in a competition to design a logo for the new bags, which was won by Emilia Rustyn, eight, and Cullen Burke, 11.

Amanda Campbell, chair of the school's parent council, said: "The article was brought into the school and discussed by the eco-group and they decided that they wanted to do something to make a difference and it really prompted the kids.

"They are enthusiastic and have been really excited about the launch of the bag."

The children use plastic bags to carry things such as their gym kit, packed lunch or footballs to school.

Miss Campbell said letters would be going out to all parents urging them to purchase one of the eco bags instead of sending their children to school with carrier bags.

She said: "Because of the way the kids feel about it, I can't see any of them brining carrier bags into school anymore.

"They have done really well."

The eco-friendly bags were launched at the school yesterday and will be sold to parents for 2 each.

The money raised from the sales will be ploughed back into environmental projects at the school.

New litter bins for the playground will be bought with the funds, along with "Hippo" water saving devices for the school toilets, which save around three litres of water with every flush.

Headteacher Eileen Littlewood said: "They are moving forward in becoming responsible citizens of tomorrow, taking care and respecting the environment.

"I'm extremely pleased and proud of all the pupils for all of their efforts."

Traders in Marchmont and Sciennes recently launched their own cotton shopping bag after vowing to get of plastic carriers in their businesses.

The eco-minded entrepreneurs organised a competition to decide how the bag would look using a grant from the city council.

Traders in Portobello introduced Porty Shopper canvas bags earlier this year. The initiative was set up by the Portobello Energy Descent and Land Reform (Pedal) group, which has designed and produced the bags after also securing funds from the council's Waste Action Grant Programme.