Children from across Bath & North East Somerset are being given the opportunity to see their artwork displayed on the Council’s new food recycling vehicle.
Bath & North East Somerset Council wants to ensure the new lorry raises awareness of the importance of recycling food and is running a competition for local school pupils to design an eye-catching livery for the vehicle.
The Council’s Food Recycling Service collects waste food from schools and businesses. The food is then recycled to create electricity.
40 schools have signed up to use the service, but there is scope for more to join in as the new recycling lorry has a larger capacity than the vehicle it is replacing.
The competition is open to school pupils aged between 4 and 18 who either live or attend a school in Bath and North East Somerset.
There will be two categories of winner – primary and secondary. The primary school prize will be £25 for the winner and £100 for their school. The secondary school prize will be £50, with £200 for the school.
Both winning designs will be transformed into professional graphics and displayed on the new vehicle.
Schools in Bath and North East Somerset are being encouraged to take part but pupils can enter as individuals where their school is not participating.
The deadline for entries is Wednesday 14th October, 2015 and the Council hopes to see the new designs driving around Bath and North East Somerset before the end of the year.
Cllr Martin Veal (Conservative, Bathavon North) Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “The new food recycling vehicle will allow us to collect more food waste from schools and businesses across our area.
“More and more people are learning about the importance of recycling waste food and we want to see a continued reduction in the amount of waste that ends up in landfill.”
The Council is also running a Feed Me and Win campaign to raise awareness about the importance of food recycling. The campaign rewards residents for putting their food recycling out for collection.
One winner will be selected each week until March 2016. All you have to do is use the food recycling service – the more often you use it the more chances you have to win.
Winners receive a £50 voucher to spend at an outlet of their choice or they can make a £50 donation to a charity of their choice.
The scheme has been funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government £5million Recycling Reward Scheme.
For more information, go to www.bathnes.gov.uk/schoolrecycling, email [email protected] or contact Council Connect on 01225 39 40 41.