MORE than 12 cubic metres of plastic waste has been removed from the Halton saltmarsh, thanks to children and community groups.

Pupils from three schools teamed up to collect plastic bottles, food packaging, footballs, car bumpers and tyres.

The waste will all be recycled as part of the Mersey Gateway Environmental Trust’s (MGET) Plastic Resolution Project.

Children from St Michael's Catholic Primary School in Ditton, Widnes Academy in West Bank and Woodside Primary School in Runcorn took part in three clean-up sessions.

The community project developed by ecologist Jeff Clarke and supported by the Big Lottery attempts to make small but significant changes to the local environment through action and education.

Paul Oldfield, company secretary of the MGET said: “We’re delighted that the community, schools and business are getting involved with the project.

"Plastics are a big problem when it comes to environmental pollution.

"A major cause of this is littering and mismanaged plastic waste.

"Plastic bottles and food packaging are often washed into our rivers and travel downstream into our oceans. Some of it is deposited on the saltmarsh by the tides.

"Without cleaning the saltmarshes, more and more plastics will accumulate and pollute the local environment.”

Justine Weston from WSR Recycling said: “WSR Recycling were keen to help out and were pleased to deliver skips for the project. It is great that the children also got involved, as it gives them an understanding of how important it is to keep our environment clean and also it gives them a sense of achievement.”

Ellis Bebbington, a year six pupil and chairman of the student council at St Michael’s Primary School said: “It was fun. I enjoyed cleaning up plastics.

"It felt like St Michael's made a big impact with all we collected. I hope we're making others aware of the plastics in our seas and how it is killing animals and getting into our food.

"I'd definitely like to do it again and keep spreading the news."

Dr Andrea Drewitt, Biodiversity Manager at the MGET said; “We’re engaging with schools and other organisations including Widnes Vikings to talk about how we can improve our own lifestyle to combat the problem of plastics.

"It is only a small contribution to the global problem, but by starting the change now is vital and through action and education we hope that we can set the tone for the future, engaging with local schools and the wider community.”

The trust is planning to deliver more clean-up sessions after the bird breeding season and invites anyone wishing to get involved from schools to community groups, to visit mget.org.uk or email environmentaltrust@merseygateway.co.uk.