Date: 07/03/2007
A Glossop School will have 67 trees planted in its grounds on Friday 16 March - thanks to High Peak residents responding so positively to appeals to recycle all their aluminium cans and foil.
The 67 native trees - including Scots pine, cherry, oak, rowan and birch - will be planted in the grounds of St Mary"s Catholic Primary School, at Gladstone Street, in Glossop, as a result of the Trees for Africa and the UK appeal, which High Peak Borough Council first signed up to more than two years ago.
The Trees for Africa and the UK appeal is a nation-wide recycling campaign, organised by Alupro - Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation - a non-profit group.
Alupro encourages residents to recycle aluminium through their kerbside collections and by bringing them to local recycling sites.
One tree has been awarded for every tonne of aluminium recycled over 18 months. This means High Peak residents have recycled an impressive 67 tonnes of aluminium.
High Peak Borough Council has also donated 10 per cent of our tree allocation to an African programme, based in the Gabio Forest - Burkina Faso, which will grow trees, such as mango, cashew and baobob.
The selected trees will supply food and medicine, and help produce honey for the local markets. This will generate much needed income for the village communities.
High Peak Borough Council"s Executive Member for the Environment, Councillor Glynis Kirk, said: "This is a great achievement - our thanks go to all residents who have made the effort to recycle more of their waste. This scheme means we can improve our local environment through native tree planting, and have a positive impact on poorer parts of the world."
She added: "It also means we are encouraging our residents to recycle more, which, in itself, is beneficial to the environment. We are delighted to receive these trees in recognition of the massive improvement seen in recycling across the borough."
Alupro is a not for profit company www.alupro.org.uk - limited by guarantee, sponsored by the aluminium packaging and recycling industries.
Alupro is working on the African project with the charity, Tree Aid, which is helping some of the world"s poorest people in rural Africa to become self-reliant, by helping them secure basic needs and vital income from trees. This is done through training and funding community forest projects - see www.treeaid.org.uk.