DS Smith has launched a new recycling pilot scheme designed to encourage school pupils to look after the planet.
The DS Smith Young Recyclers scheme is partnering with five primary schools across Kent to help children understand the importance of recycling and the circular economy through fun and engaging educational materials.
Pupils can get involved in the recycling process by bringing cardboard from their home into dedicated collection boxes at school where it will be collected and turned into new packaging papers at DS Smith’s Kemsley paper mill. Through a visit to the mill, the children will also get to experience first-hand the recycling process.
Stephanie Dalton, innovation manager at DS Smith, said, “At DS Smith, we want to lead the way towards a more circular economy through engaging and educating our people, our industry and the next generation. We are delighted that the children are involved in this project, and we’re really looking forward to showing them how little steps can make a big difference.”
The Young Recyclers scheme follows a project with Cardiff Metropolitan University, where product design students were challenged to consider how packaging could be better collected from our homes as the trend towards online shopping gathers pace. Toby Edmunds, whose team created the Young Recyclers concept, has since joined DS Smith to turn the idea into reality.
He said, “Across Europe, e-commerce is growing year on year and the Covid-19 pandemic has only heightened this trend, creating a demand for more and more fibre-based packaging. Finding practical, sustainable solutions to keep pace requires leadership, new partnerships, and new thinking. It is exciting to see the schools’ involvement and the children’s joy at contributing to this scheme, and we hope that, if successful, the scheme will be rolled out nationally to make an even bigger difference.”
