A RUBBISH TREAT FOR SCHOOL KIDS

Sittingbourne, Kent, 29th July 2008 – Civic-minded bin men from Verdant, Swale Borough Council’s recycling and refuse contractor, delighted pupils from Meadowfield Special School when they drove up in three gleaming vehicles.

The surprise visit was arranged by Swale Borough Council environment projects officer Anne Ryman who had been working with Meadowfield pupils on an environmental project. The school specialises in educating pupils with a wide range of complex learning difficulties.

Said Anne: “The boys in the group are mad about the refuse lorries and always wave as they go by, so I thought it would be a real treat if we could bring the trucks to the kids. Verdant business manager Malcolm Savill was only too glad to help.”

Operations manager Les Smith, along with crew men Andy Austin, Nigel Brandon and Keith Howard, arrived at the school in a recycling truck, a refuse freighter and a road sweeper, and then let the pupils have a good look inside and out, as well as try on protective equipment.

Les commented: “They were a great bunch of kids and if we helped make their day, and make them a bit more aware of waste and recycling, then it was truly our pleasure to have been there. They were delightful.”

The final word is Anne’s: “The kids were over the moon at the visit, and I don’t think they will ever forget it. The excitement on the face of one young boy as the vehicles swept in was such a pleasure to see. Another lad, who has always wanted to be a fireman, now wants to be a bin man, so maybe Verdant have a new recruit for the future.”

She added that the pupils’ project work is being sent for assessment which hopefully will lead to them getting their equivalent of a GCSE.

- ends -

About Verdant
Verdant Group Plc (www.verdant-group.co.uk), part of the fast-growing, recycling-led Greenstar UK group (www.greenstar.co.uk), provides high quality, efficient recycling, refuse, cleansing and grounds maintenance services for 24 local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland. It makes over 50 million recycling and refuse collections annually from nearly 800,000 households, and employs over 1,300 staff operating with 500+ vehicles. Hundreds of staff are participating in a government-backed skills and awareness training programme which leads to a recognised vocational qualification. Verdant’s Arun Green Waste Club in West Sussex won Best Partnership Project at the 2007 National Recycling Awards, and Verdant also won the Best Commitment to Health & Safety category of the 2005 National Recycling Awards.

For further media information, contact:

Blair Drummond, Verdant PR consultant – tel (m) 07798 686 217, email blair.drummond@btopenworld.com