Themes for Suffolk Waste Partnership’s annual festive waste recycling initiative started with stars, went on to baubles and has now flocked together beautiful birds of peace.

East Anglian Daily Times: Pupils at Priory School, Bury St Edmunds, have been awarded the top prize in Suffolk Waste Partnership's Christmas recycling project. Picture: GREGG BROWNPupils at Priory School, Bury St Edmunds, have been awarded the top prize in Suffolk Waste Partnership's Christmas recycling project. Picture: GREGG BROWN

Pupils at a Bury St Edmunds school received an early Christmas present this week as reward for their participation in Suffolk’s annual Christmas recycling project.

Priory School pupils aged 10 to 15 took part in Suffolk Waste Partnership’s Beautiful Birds of Peace initiative, creating a dazzling array of imaginative and decorative bird models from waste materials. They joined hundreds of young people across the county who took part in the project - and struck lucky by being drawn out of the hat as winners of the scheme’s top prize.

Partnership chairman David Bowman presented the pupils with their award this week - a £50 gardening voucher. The prize was especially welcome for the school as it has a long tradition of undertaking horticultural learning initiatives.

In total, 31 schools, Guides and Brownies from Ipswich and the county’s town’s Gainsborough Library took part in the Beautiful Birds of Peace project, which followed the partnership’s previous successful festive anti-waste initiatives - 1,000 Suffolk Stars in 2015 and 1,000 Brilliant Baubles last year. As in previous years, the project’s creations - totalling almost 2,000 designs - are being displayed over the Christmas period at The Apex, Bury St Edmunds, and at Ipswich Town Hall.

East Anglian Daily Times: Pupils at Priory School, Bury St Edmunds, have been awarded the top prize in Suffolk Waste Partnership's Christmas recycling project. Picture: GREGG BROWNPupils at Priory School, Bury St Edmunds, have been awarded the top prize in Suffolk Waste Partnership's Christmas recycling project. Picture: GREGG BROWN

Priory School teacher Sarah Triner said: “The project has raised awareness of the importance of what we do with our waste and it was also an opportunity to turn something very ordinary into something beautiful.

“It was good for the children to learn new skills and see that transformation. The pupils got really excited to see their work displayed and it made them feel very proud of themselves.”

Suffolk Waste Partnership chairman David Bowman said: “We are delighted with the response from these young people. Suffolk’s 50% recycling rate is something we are very proud of and the creativity and imagination of the children to make these wonderful birds from everyday recycled materials is testament to the dedication of the young people and their teachers and leaders.”

Matthew Hicks, county council cabinet member for environment and public protection, is the partnership’s vice-chairman. He added: “We need to work with schools and our young people and help them to develop good habits of reducing, re-using and recycling. We know that the popularity of these projects encourages them to think about rubbish and recycling as a resource, rather than something that goes to waste.”

East Anglian Daily Times: Pupils at Priory School, Bury St Edmunds, have been awarded the top prize in Suffolk Waste Partnership's Christmas recycling project. Picture: GREGG BROWNPupils at Priory School, Bury St Edmunds, have been awarded the top prize in Suffolk Waste Partnership's Christmas recycling project. Picture: GREGG BROWN

The partnership is appealing for people to be “vigilant” over Christmas and ensure that waste is kept to a minimum. It says that advice for having the greenest, lowest-waste Christmas is available at www.suffolkrecycling/recycling/campaign/green-christmas/

The website is packed with information about recycled gift ideas, fun alternatives to wrapping paper and tips to help reduce food waste, as well as practical information about Christmas bin collections and recycling Christmas trees. If anyone is unsure about what to recycle, the site includes an A-Z of recycling that gives all the information that may be required.