Children at Blackpool children's club win the right to recycle

The children at Blackpool Boys and Girls’ Club had been learning about the harm that waste can do to the environment since the Blue Planet TV programme highlighted problems with plastic waste in the seas.

But because the club is just off the normal route for recycling it has never had its own bins.

Now the youngsters and club leaders have persuaded the council to collect their sorted waste and the council has supplied them with hessian bags for the collection.

Youth worker Dave Blacker said: “We have been working with the children for a few months to get recycling introduced to the youth centre.

“Councillor Adrian Hutton has been very supportive and the children are very keen to help save the planet.

“The idea came from them. We recently did a project with them about Captain Scott and went on to talk about the environment.

“The kids were really keen to do something about it and there is a message for the whole town in that.

“The club is set back and a bit out of the way for collections but with a bit of organisation we have done it.”

The club was closed in 2011 because of council cuts and only opened again when the Blackpool Boys and Girls’ Club offered to take it on.

It has carried out a series of projects designed to get children involved in community issues, from the environment to local history, plus health and welfare schemes designed to develop physical, emotional and economic resilience for the future. It also organised residential trips for the children.