Arts week 2007: a three day opportunity to get creative and produce something worthwhile for the school. For the eco-schools committee it was a chance to do something about the lack of plastic recycling facilities within the school. Four blue wheelie bins were donated to the school, but before we could put them to use we needed to discover where to put them, how to encourage the correct use of them and perhaps most importantly how to decorate them!

Firstly, five people were sent to carry out surveys of the lower, middle and sixth form school sites, filling in site maps with keys to indicate where paper-recycling bins and bins for general waste were situated. We found that middle school was the most consistent in this area with most classrooms containing both kinds of bins.

However, sixth form and lower school were more erratic with some classrooms containing no recycling facilities at all. Additionally, areas around the three sites with large amounts of plastic waste were photographed in order to give a suggestion of where the bins should be situated.

After deciding on possible situations for the bins it was on to the design process. Several pupils set about producing a variety of designs both for decorating the bins and for posters advocating the use of them. Designs ranged from circuses to Spongebob Squarepants and posters included rats, Mr Williams and ninjas! After much deliberation, four designs were chosen and the pimping began.

The bins were primed, sanded and painted with a coat of gloss and then left overnight to dry before coloured paints could be added to decorate them.

After a slight spelling hitch, posters were laminated and then placed around the school, beginning the campaign for recycling in Cowbridge. The next day initial designs were sketched on to the bins with charcoal and the really messy part commenced. Pupils suited up in overalls not dissimilar to those worn on CSI and despite odd looks from the rest of the school began painting.

Using gloss paints we created a cow, a circus, handprints and a clown. We also glued on recycling logos designed by one of the pupils and printed from the computer. At the same time, we began work on a wall display, taking and printing photos of the work in progress and backing them along with pupil’s designs for bins and site maps on coloured paper and newspaper (in keeping with the recycling theme).

Finally we completed and glued down the display and varnished the bins in order to hold the colour and fix the logos securely.

By the end of the third day our bins were well and truly pimped and ready for recycling.