Southport Rubish Friends

Pupils at primary schools in Southport have taken part in a special art project to raise awareness of littering.

School children were asked to design a poster advertising ‘Rubbish Friends’ – a local initiative aimed at encouraging people of all ages to dispose of their waste responsibly.

Rubbish Friends was introduced in 2012 by councillors Pat Keith and Sue McGuire in a bid to decrease the amount of litter within the local community.

Cllr Keith came up with idea for the poster design competition which was won by Grace Wareing – a Year 6 pupil at St Patrick’s RC Primary School.

Grace’s design will now be seen on Sefton Council refuse wagons in Southport along with other designs from budding artists at Kings Meadow Primary School (Travis Bennett), Marshside Primary School (Abigail Finn) and Class 8 at Merefield School who were all commended in the competition.

Posters with all 4 designs will also go onto the large litter bins in and around Southport.

Cllr Pat Keith said: “The response from Southport schools was magnificent and I’m delighted that children have taken this opportunity to lead the way.

“Young people have a great ability to communicate in a simple way yet deliver a powerful message as the winning entries demonstrate.

“It’s not only a great boost for our campaign but it should also encourage people to consider their own environment and respect their surroundings. The Rubbish Friends project has proved to be very successful and we were keen to spread the messages to our local schools.

“A big congratulations to all the children who took the time to enter the competition and well done to Grace Wareing and the other designers who can see their efforts emblazoned on refuse wagons and litter bins across the town.”

Cllr John Fairclough, Cabinet Member Locality Services, added: “Any project which encourages young people to think twice about dropping litter is to be commended.

“A big well done to all the children who entered this worthy art competition.”

Sefton Council offers a wide range of commercial waste collection services to both business and private customers which include the collection of trade waste, dry recycling services and skip hire at competitive rates. View the Bins & Recycling section for further information or call 0845 140 0845.

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