TWELVE Oxfordshire students learnt about what happens to non-recyclable waste through engaging workshops at a waste management company.

Fritwell Primary School pupils visited Ardley ERF (Energey Recovery Facility) near Bicester where they learnt about the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling rubbish.

Viridor, the company that runs the facility, joined forces with aggregate producers Fortis IBA (Incinerator Bottom Ash) to creatively bring the message of sustainable construction alive.

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Schoolchildren toured the facility and were taught about the journey that non-recyclable waste makes from our homes to be transformed into electricity and how it can contribute to the material used to build roads.

Fritwell Primary School teacher, Zoe Rowe, said: “The children thoroughly enjoyed learning about how much can be recycled and reused. We’ve come away with lots of ideas to take back to the school and I will be recommending further visits.”

The day ended with the presentation of a £20 book voucher for the winner of an upcycling competition which had challenged the school's 'eco buddies' to create a sustainable construction model from anything that would otherwise be considered as rubbish.

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The winning design, which was a creation of the Ardley ERF (Energy Recovery Facility) by student, Sam, was selected by Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for the environment, councillor Yvonne Constance.

Viridor’s learning and visitor centre manager, Jessica Baker-Pike, said: “We welcome the opportunity to partner with Fortis IBA, to demonstrate through educational school visits to Ardley ERF, the important message of “Right Stuff, Right Bin”.

“The workshops and competition were a really creative way to inspire young people to begin to think about their environment, and for us to show them how to maximise opportunities to recycle and then put non-recyclable waste to work, creating electricity, roads and many other end-of-waste products.”

The children were taught how Fortis IBA take the ash generated from Ardley ERF and recycle it into FortiStone IBA Aggregate which is used in construction across the county.

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For every one tonne of the aggregate used, it diverts 400 bags of black bin waste from landfill.

The aggregate preserves the county's natural resources.

Fortis IBA Ltd communications and marketing manager, Kerry Hayman, said: “It is encouraging to see students engaging and asking all the right questions around what happens to their non-recyclable waste.

"The UK now faces a limited availability of primary aggregates and there is a growing requirement for construction to be more sustainable."

Viridor operates the Ardley Energy Recovery Facility as part of its contract with Oxfordshire County Council.

The plant takes 326,300 tonnes of non-recyclable waste each year and diverts at least 95 per cent of Oxfordshire’s non-recyclable municipal waste away from landfill, generating enough electricity to power the equivalent of 59,616 homes.