Litter is becoming a big problem at our school. The recently formed ‘Eco-Warrior’ club, made up of pupils from years 7 to 9, has audited the school’s fields and dining hall and has found that majority of our pupils choose not to use the bins provided but instead throw their rubbish onto the ground. The school ends up spending £1000s a year on clearing up fast-food packaging, chewing gum, food wrappers, plastic pots and drinks cans and bottles. Rather than money spent on cleaning up after our pupils, it could be better spent in a more positive way such as providing more after-school activities for your child.

As we all know, littering is an unacceptable social problem and attempting to change behaviour can be very difficult because dropping rubbish has become a bad habit. It seems that pupils who litter do not feel a sense of ownership over the school and believe that someone else will clean up their trash.

As I am sure you would agree, in addition to being unsightly, litter/rubbish can serve as a breeding ground for pests and harmful bacteria thus increasing the chances of our pupils becoming ill. It could also lead to possible injury such as a pupil stepping on rusty metal hidden in the school field grass. Also, rubbish strewn around the fields is blown by the wind into the fence that surrounds the school, creating an unsightly environment which has a negative impact on our efforts to keep the school site as best as it could be.

Thus far the following recommendations have been proposed by the Eco Warrior club:

• Put more rubbish bins on the field.
• Reduce the size of the field by cordoning off the extreme outer sections of the field.
• Making a poster and displaying it in every classroom to make all pupils aware of the problems of littering
• Pupils found guilty of dropping litter/rubbish should be given community service where they will pick up rubbish for an hour after school. This service will be supervised by a member of staff.

To help tackle the issue of litter and to increase the effect of our anti-litter campaign, we seek your support in this matter. In addition to you re-enforcing the good habits they have at home regarding the dropping of rubbish in the bins provided, your comments and suggestions in reducing the amount of rubbish our pupils dispose on the school grounds will help our Eco-Warriors in their fight against litter in school.

If you support the recommendations of the Eco-Warrior club and have any comments or suggestions to add, could you please complete the form below and return the slip to your child’s form tutor. Alternatively, you could email the school on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your suggestions or comments.

Thank you for your continued support and contributions in making the school a litter-free school.