King’s Lynn students lead eco charge

Students at a King’s Lynn school have been proving their green credentials, by coming top of the region in an initiative to save used batteries from going to landfill.

Springwood High School rallied its eco-conscious students to take part in the Big Battery Hunt, a National School Partnership’s campaign that saw thousands of schools in the UK collect over 23.5 million batteries to recycle.

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The school, a member of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, came first out of participating secondaries in Norfolk, with Springwood students collecting a grand total of 3,739 used batteries.

“It has been a staggering effort, by both staff and pupils,” said Agnieszka Munns, who is Environmental Lead at Springwood and organised the school’s campaign. 

“Lots of individuals jumped at the opportunity to engage with this project, reinforcing the environmental message our school is promoting.

“Every year, an average of 600 million batteries are thrown away in the UK, and each battery can take up to 100 years to decompose. Every used battery collected and recycled has been saved from going into landfill.”

Students went to great efforts to hunt out used batteries, with Lois Burrell in Year 9 topping the Springwood leaderboard, having single-handedly collected over 1,150 batteries.

She and the two other top collectors received Eco Certificates and Eco Warrior pin badges at the school’s annual rewards ceremony, which was held at St Nicholas Chapel in King’s Lynn.

“Springwood High School’s response to the challenge was greatly enhanced by students who went the extra mile with their battery recycling efforts,” added Mrs Munns.

“We had Battery Recycling Pioneers going around their families, neighbours and even care homes in order to collect more household batteries. Some students even took the initiative and organised litter-picking in their local park, along with the Battery Hunt.

“We have some impressive, eco-conscious young people at Springwood High School, who are aware of the human impact on the environment and are eager to take part in any green challenges,” added Mrs Munns.