Since the Surrey Environment Partnership’s Rethink Waste scheme launched, it has awarded £19,500 to 24 Surrey primary schools as chosen by Surrey residents who’ve signed up to the scheme. And now, with a further £2,000 on offer you too can give a gift to local kids by signing up and taking part.
The scheme works like this. You sign up to Rethink Waste and complete fun, easy online activities that help you reduce waste, for which you win points. You select your local school and donate your points to them. At the end of February and March 2025, the two schools with the most points will take home a share of £1,000 that they’ll use to fund an environmental project.
So far, over 12,000 households in Surrey have signed up to take part in Rethink Waste. They’ve completed nearly 200,000 activities and are well on their way to reducing the amount of waste produced in Surrey – a result for the planet and for Surrey councils as they will save money on disposal costs.
And Surrey residents have chosen some great projects to get behind too. Money from Rethink Waste has funded projects ranging from creating brand new outdoor classrooms to buying litter picking sets, building new guinea pig homes and building raised beds.
If you want to take part, sign up to Rethink Waste online or download the app.
- The schools in Elmbridge, Mole Valley, Surrey Heath and Woking taking part and the projects they’ll fund should they win are:
- Ashley CofE Primary School, Walton-on-Thames – buy a new polytunnel.
- Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery, Woking – buy gardening equipment and to reline the school’s pond.
- Beaufort Primary School, Woking – build a hedgehog haven.
- Cleves School, Weybridge – build green canopy roofs and benches.
- Fetcham Village Infant School, Leatherhead – develop woodland area.
- The Hermitage Infant School, Woking – run a project to reduce litter.
- Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, Woking – create a recycling centre.
- Leatherhead Trinity School and Nursery – implement a food waste recycling system for the school.
- Polesden Lacey Infant School, Leatherhead – buy litter pickers and help a solar panel project.
- St Alban’s Catholic Primary School, Molesey – buy signs for a recycling station, develop food recycling and set up a school farm shop.
- St James CofE Primary School, Weybridge – develop green spaces and an allotment.
- St Martin’s CofE Primary School, Dorking – develop a nature-friendly area.
- Walton Oak Primary School, Walton-on-Thames – install recycling stations, run waste reduction workshops and buy eco resources.