Millbank Primary School
Growing Together To Be Our Best
Dalek Compost Bin
EXTERMINATING WASTE
Green Gang have been doing lots of activities with plastic this year trying to reduce plastic waste and encourage its recycling. They have tried to do this by making people think about the plastic packaging they get, by making lots of fun sculptures from it. This week is the tenth annual National Compost Awareness Week which runs from 2-8 May 2010. So we have been decorating a standard compost bin into a Dalek using plastic waste. It's great fun, easy to do and of course does not cost anything!
We like compost as it gives us free organic material to grow all our plants and flowers in, but it also means that we throw less away into Landfill and that means that fewer trips are needed to collect our waste so we do not have to pay so much council taxes on wasting resources. We have always tried to encourage people to compost and have given out information and advice at community events. We also give out advice, tips and information in our weekly parents newsletters on issues such as composting.
We enjoyed making the dalek it has been simple enough and the children have simply screwed Muller Yogurt pots (made from polystyrene PS) and Muller Rice pots (made from Polypropylene PP) around the base. It's yet more HDPE milk cartons and bottle tops around the middle and the head was a Polypropylene tub collected during a litterpick in the alley which was cut to size. Of course the old sink plunger and broken broom handle are mandatory for use in all Dalek sculptures. The children made it during their own lunch hours and break. Of course with all our sculptures the main ingredient has been lots of fun and imagination. Mr Peter Davies the Sustainable Development Commissioner came in and saw our dalek as we started and liked how the children were trying to make a difference in their community.
Our entry into the RHS schools wheelbarrow competition this year was used to promote plastic recycling and several people said they wanted to have a go at the children's milk bottle sculpture designs - so that was nice.
Whilst we are just a small school we asked the world's leading Eco explorer David De Rothchild about his efforts to promote the issues of plastic waste on a global scale with his expedition in the Plastiki whilst it was 34 days out from San Francisco en route to Sydney Australia. Why not check out their website.
