Springwood High School has come top trumps of participating secondary schools in Norfolk, collecting a grand total of 3739 used batteries. Agnieszka Munns, the school Environmental Lead and organiser of the school’s campaign said: ‘it has been a staggering effort, by both staff and pupils. Lots of individuals jumped at the opportunity to engage with this project, so reinforcing the environmental message our school is promoting. Every used battery collected and recycled has been saved from going into landfill.  Every year, an average of 600 million batteries are thrown away in the UK: each battery can take up to 100 years to decompose.’ 

Springwood High School’s response to the challenge was greatly enhanced by students who went extra mile with their Battery Recycling efforts.  ‘We had Battery Recycling Pioneers; going around their families, neighbours and even care homes in order to collect even more household batteries,’ said Mrs Munns.  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 environment and are eager to take part in any green challenges,’ added Mrs Munns. The top student whole excelled at this task was Lois, a year 9 student who single-handedly collected over 1,150 batteries.  The top three students who collected most batteries have received eco-certificates and Eco Warrior pin badges at the Springwood High School Rewards Ceremony, which is held annually at St. Nicholas Chapel in King’s Lynn.  

Anyone interested in recycling used batteries should be aware that, from 30 January this year, Norfolk County Council has introduced kerbside recycle of used household batteries to be put in a small plastic bag on top of either black or green bin in a normal weekly recycling scheme, so it is even easier to recycle them.