South Ayrshire Council News

Marr College students, South Ayrshire Council employees who were assisting them and PC Colin Jones, Campus Police Officer.

Marr College pupils want to keep their school looking good so they are taking part in a ‘Bin It To Win It’ initiative to rid the school of litter. They decided to start as they mean to go on by taking part in a litter pick in the school grounds.

The aim of the initiative is to encourage pupils to dispose of litter properly, by placing it in litter bins around the schools and to pick up litter others have dropped.

The school, Strathclyde Police, and employees from South Ayrshire Council’s Antisocial Behaviour Team and Waste Management department have been working together to encourage pupils to take part in the scheme. Pupils were made aware of it at their school assemblies and posters were placed around the school to encourage everyone to take part.

Whenever Campus Police Officers at the schools and Waste Management Officers, who regularly visit the schools, see pupils placing litter into a bin they will take a note of their name. All the names collected will then be entered into a draw to win prizes.

The names of pupils seen dropping litter and not picking it up and disposing of it properly will be noted and a letter sent to their parent or carer to tell them what has happened.

Councillor Peter Convery, the Council’s Portfolio Carrier for Sustainability and Environment joined other local Councillors at the launch, he said: “When litter is dropped it makes a place look untidy, damages the environment and can be a danger to wildlife.

“I am very pleased that the Marr College pupils care about their school and the environment and are taking the time and trouble to carry out a litter pick at their school. This is a great example of young people helping the Council to look after their school and their environment, not all of the litter collected will have been dropped by the young people, but they are still willing to clean it up.”

The initiative will run until the end of the school term and continue in the new term after the summer holidays, then the names of all the pupils who have successfully collected litter be entered into a grand prize draw.

Officers from the Council’s Waste Management department will be carefully monitoring the levels of litter in and around the school and these will be analysed so that the impact on litter levels can be recorded.

Speaking about the initiative Superintendent John Hazlett, Ayr Police office, said:
“This is a worthwhile initiative and pupils from Marr College have madea real difference by working with their Campus Police Officers to reduce the amount of litter within the school grounds and the surrounding streets."

Pupils will be carrying out regular litter picks in their school grounds this term and will continue to do so when the new academic year starts.