St Brendan’s Committed to Going Green

Since becoming a founder supporter of Sound of Many Waters, St Brendan’s Catholic Sixth Form College in Brislington, Bristol has been actively looking to encourage a greener lifestyle.

This has taken many forms, from the ‘People and Planet’ group designing an environmental audit, to the erection of ‘Thank you for not driving’ signs around the college. The 500th such sign was unveiled in the college by local MP Kerry McCarthy late last year.

More recently, the college has really aimed to promote recycling amongst its students and staff. Numerous paper recycling bins can be found in and around the campus. In addition, the refectory is filled with a number of plastic recycling bins, allowing students to easily recycle plastic goods after break or lunchtime. In fact, St Brendan’s is one of the few academic institutions that have a large plastic recycling facility actually on site, which is provided by Recresco Ltd. According to the Environment Agency, nearly three million tonnes of waste plastic are produced in the UK each year, only 7% of which is recycled. Plastic is believed to take around 500 years to decompose and a serious problem with plastic is that the additives contained within them, such as colorants, stabilisers and plasticizers, all contain toxic components which have a detrimental effect on the environment. Hence, the awareness of plastic recycling has become a major issue throughout the college. Large cardboard recycling bins are also situated just outside the main building too.

A further supplement to the college recycling family is a clothing bank provided by St Peter’s Hospice. The large bank which is situated between the art block and the main building recycles clothing, bedding, curtains and paired shoes.

With such fantastic facilities available on site, there is now no excuse for everyone at the college not to recycle. Peter Jones, Premises Manager at St Brendan’s said, “The good news is that we can all do something to help protect our precious environment – and the effort we make, no matter how little it seems, really will make a difference.”