A SPECIAL assembly at St Margaret's CE Primary School in Prestwich was the springboard for the launch of Bury Council's "Recycle the food you can't eat" campaign.

Year six pupils dressed up in food costumes and delivered a presentation highlighting the importance of recycling cooked and uncooked food waste.

The youngsters were shown how easily families can recycle food waste at home by using the free kitchen caddy, compostable liners and brown recycling bin provided by the council.

Glenn Stuart, head of waste management at the council, said: “We chose St Margaret’s to launch our ‘Recycle the food you can’t eat’ campaign because recycling is very much a part of daily life at this school and we wanted to thank and reward everyone for their excellent efforts.”

On the day of the assembly, the school received a cheque for £50 which will go towards compost and a bench for the school allotment.

Headteacher Kath Perry said: “We were delighted to be chosen to be the launch pad for this campaign. The assembly was a huge success with everyone enthusiastically taking part.

“Our pupils were given a really good understanding of why and how food waste should be recycled; and we hope that they will use what they have learned to prompt and remind family members that everyone needs to do their bit at home.

“Not only does food waste recycling help the environment and save money, it also gets turned into ‘revive’ compost that we can use back in our gardens.”

Teacher Christina McGarraghy added: “It is great to know our school has been at the forefront of promoting recycling in the borough and we hope to get many more people on board.”

* Residents can request a free kitchen caddy and compostable liners, or a brown recycling bin, by visiting www.bury.gov.uk/requestabin or by calling 0161 253 5353. Kitchen caddies and liners can also be collected from libraries.

To find out about Revive compost: visit http://www.recycleforgreatermanchester.com/compost/buy-revive