A West Lothian schoolboy raised enough money to buy every child in his school a reusable water bottle in his fight against single-use plastic.
Callum Isted, a pupil at Dedridge Primary School, has been speaking to MSPs about his campaign to have primary children in Scotland use a reusable bottle in their lunch boxes and have access to taps where they can refill them during the school day.
And the seven-year-old’s dedication to the cause has led to him winning in the Youth Award category at the Learning for Sustainability awards
He said that he was motivated to make a difference after seeing the amount of plastic waste his school was producing, in particular through plastic water bottles.
Callum walked the John Muir Way to raise funds to buy every pupil in his school a metal reusable water bottle.
On top of this, he petitioned West Lothian Council and the Scottish Government, calling on them to follow his lead and move away from plastic bottles.
Callum noticed that fellow pupils were being given single-use bottles with a packed lunch on Fridays. He told the BBC: “What used to happen is that all the plastic bottles got chucked in the bin and they go out to sea, and that is 180 bottles per day.
“Now we’re at zero a day.”
Callum’s mum, Sarah, is very proud of the way he has taken on board the issue and worked hard to help his fellow pupils reduce their waste.
She explained how he weighed a bottle he had brought home from school and calculated that the total weight of the bottles his school threw out each year was about that of a giant panda at Edinburgh Zoo. That figure really upset him and really galvanised him into action,” she said.
The organisers of the Education Scotland Learning for Sustainability awards said that Callum’s dedication demonstrated that he recognised the issue of single-use plastic was one for everyone and not just his own school.
The Education Scotland Learning for Sustainability awards, recognise the amazing achievements of Scotland’s people and the settings, schools and communities that have demonstrated passion and commitment to building a socially-just sustainable and equitable world.
Congratulating Callum and all the other winners, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills Shirley-Anne Somerville said “Children and young people in Scotland are driving forward the cause for climate action and it is vital that we listen to their views and harness their passion as part of COP26 and its legacy.
“Learning for sustainability opportunities are embedded in our curriculum and will help ensure that our pupils not only have a strong voice during COP26, but also have a say in what should happen after.
“Congratulations to all this year’s winners for their hard work.”
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