CONEY Green High School is taking a firm stand against waste.

The school council, under the guidance of teacher Sally March and with the assistance of the charity Global Action Plan Aid and Bury Council, embarked on a scheme to cut down on waste within the school.

The pupils wanted to show others how easily waste can be recycled and reduced and set an example to the wider community.

After a day-long training and brainstorming session, the school council carried out a waste audit.

All the waste from the school offices and classrooms was separated and weighed in order to gauge the scale of the problem. The school council then set about organising an awareness campaign within the school and encouraging others to take positive action to reduce or minimise the waste they produce. The waste reduction theme is not only confined to fellow pupils. Teachers and office staff at Coney Green as well as parents are also encouraged to contribute and think about how they can waste less, save money and reduce their impact on the environment.

Mrs March said: "One of the aims of the school council is to promote a sense of citizenship and self-responsibility among pupils. I have been very impressed by the effort, teamwork and sense of purpose shown by members of the school council. If the input shown so far is a guide, I am optimistic that pupils and staff at Coney Green will greatly reduce the amount of waste they produce."

Coun Julie Higson, Bury Council's environment and transport chairman, said: "Some of the knock-on advantages of this type of project are that a range of people are reminded and encouraged to think about the ways they can help reduce our impact on the environment."

She added: "Collectively, individual and relatively small measures such as influencing part of a school's purchasing policy, setting up a small recycling initiative or even cutting back on the number of plastic bags an individual shopper uses can dramatically reduce our impact on our environment and improve attitudes towards it."