@ Leaden Hall School
GPO Assembly
back to ECO
Eco club and the GPO
Eco Club are always on the lookout for ways to reduce waste and reuse things following their challenge “160 ways to reduce waste”. One of the things they noticed last September was how many elastic bands were littering the streets and they started and investigation – which led to a collection! The sharp eyed little waste-busters quickly had a huge box full, which the girls in Reception, Years 1 and 2 counted, eventually arriving at the sum of 4,621 elastic bands. Year 6 Eco Monitors and Eco club members helped them tally the bands in tens, twenties and hundreds in their lunch club meetings. Then came the question “What shall we do with them?”. It was agreed that the best solution would be to return them to the Post Office, but at a small cost! Eco Club sent a message to the whole school asking for question suggestions to put to the GPO, then the girls invited Peter Calanan, Manager of Salisbury’s Sorting Office to an Assembly where they questioned him about the GPO’s attitudes to Eco friendly behaviour. Bravely, in front of 220 girls and 30 teachers, Mr Calanan faced 20 Eco Monitors who fired questions at him such as
1. Do you leave your heaters on all day and night? (4B)
Our next visitor will be a representative from the NHS – if we can find someone brave enough to face our Eco Club! WeGoEco@leaden-hall.com .
Report by Eco Monitors
2. Do you shut the doors and turn off the lights? (1M)
3. Do you have any plants in the Post Office? (3B)
4. When you water plants, do you waste any water? (1G)
5. Do you shut the windows when the heating is on? (Reception)
6. Do you have air conditioning? (6P)
7. Do you leave your computers on stand by? (2M)
8. Do you deliver your post by bike, van, walk or trolley? (6O)
9. Do you have loo cisterns with water saving devices? (5S)
10. Do you have different bins for recycling in each office? (3T)
11. Do you use solar panels? (5W)
12. What do you do with y our old uniforms? (6T)
13. Do you have a canteen? (3T)
14. Do you use Fair Trade products? (5G)
15. How many things do you recycle such as... (4R)
16. Do you throw away stamps? (5W)
17 . Do you waste rubber bands? (3B)
Mr Calanan answered honestly, admitting that his office was not good at keeping plants alive and he would try to make sure monitors were turned off at night when he locked up, but he told the girls that the GPO did recycle everything they could especially in support of local or national charities. He went away with an Alabare cardboard collection box for drinks cans and said he would check the toilet cisterns to make sure they all had water saving devices installed. The final question was “Do you waste rubber bands?” and then he guessed he was in for trouble, but he did say the GPO had already made plans to save elastic bands in future. Leaden Hall girls then presented him with their huge collection of bands which he said would probably last a year!
Summer 2009