A secondary school in North Wales has been given a behind-the-scenes tour of one of Europe’s largest fridge recycling plants, hosted by popular children’s TV presenter and sustainability advocate, James Stewart.
Ysgol Bryn Alyn, a school in Wrexham, emerged victorious in a competition run by electrical retailer, AO. The prize included a visit to the company’s fridge recycling facility in Telford, Shropshire, where a group of 15 pupils got a close-up look at AO’s colossal fridge-crushing machine, “Bertha”. Weighing in at 80 tonnes, Bertha can “eat” up to 100 fridges an hour, a jaw-dropping demonstration of the scale of AO’s recycling operations. The students also participated in fun science experiments using Lego and learned how AO processes around 200 tonnes of fridge plastic each week, transforming it into new products like bathroom and kitchen fans.
As part of the experience, James Stewart – well-known for his role as a CBBC host and sustainability influencer – invited the pupils to take on the role of ‘TV presenters for the day’. Equipped with smartphones provided by AO, the students filmed and edited their own short videos, showcasing their day at the plant. These videos were later shared on AO’s social media channels, allowing the young participants to see their work shared with a wider audience.
Richard Holden, a Science Teacher at Ysgol Bryn Alyn, expressed his gratitude: “I can’t thank AO enough for choosing our school to win this competition. It was such an insightful day for our students. James Stewart was fantastic with the children, giving them the confidence to step into the shoes of mini TV presenters and allowing them to truly shine.”
The competition, which was launched by AO’s Group Recycling Director, Rob Sant, was inspired by a striking statistic from a recent survey commissioned by AO. It revealed that over a third of UK adults rely on their children to remind them to recycle. In fact, 39 per cent of British adults admit to needing help from their kids when it comes to recycling.
Mr Sant commented: “It’s fantastic to see children leading the way in promoting sustainability, so it was a real pleasure to welcome this group to AO Recycling. The enthusiasm and engagement from the students was incredible, and the videos they created in such a short time were truly impressive.”
