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Bumper year for Waste Aware team’s Green Santa toy collection campaign

Aberdeen City Council’s Waste Aware team has collected a record amount of toys in its annual Green Santa toy collection campaign.

Generous youngsters from city schools cleared out their unwanted toys to help charities raise money in the run up to Christmas.

This year more than half a tonne of toys was donated from pupils at Ashley Road, Hanover Street, Milltimber and Tullos primary schools. Tullos pupils alone collected over 330kg of toys – the same weight as the total collected from all participating schools in 2010.

The preloved toys are being used to help raise vital funds for Shelter, Sue Ryder Care, The New Hope Trust, Barnardos and PDSA Torry.

Tullos Primary School head teacher Joss Atkin said: “This was a fantastic effort from all the children that took part and they all thoroughly enjoyed getting involved in the Green Santa campaign. They understood the importance of recycling goods and are aware of the impact of waste on the environment. We will certainly be doing all we can to match or even beat this record next year.”

The Green Santa campaign aims to drive home the Waste Aware team’s Reduce, Reuse and Recycle message.

Council community waste worker Dawn Tatton said: “We are delighted with the response to this year’s campaign. The children have once more shown their generosity and I am sure the charities will join me in offering a heartfelt thanks. The Waste Aware team love this project and look forward to it every year. A toy that has been loved by someone else can make a wonderful new gift for another child. By donating unwanted toys we can help teach youngsters the importance of sharing, caring for the environment and lending support to good causes.”

Councillor Aileen Malone, convener of the council’s Housing and Environment committee, added: “An estimated 44 million toys, which are still in working order, are discarded every year in the UK, with more than 13 million ending up in landfill. Christmas is the ideal time to encourage children to clear out their old toys to make room for the new ones that Santa might bring.”

For more information about Waste Aware Aberdeen’s festive campaign and to find out ways of reducing waste, visit www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/wasteawarexmas. Alternatively e-mail wasteaware@aberdeencity.gov.uk or call 08456 08 09 19.

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