Schoolchildren in England are learning about the environmental impact of light bulbs, through an education programme organised by Recolight. The Big Light Project, a scheme for promoting the use and recycling of energy saving light bulbs, is to be launched in schools nationally, following a pilot in schools in the South-East of England.

The Big Light Project is aimed at children aged 8-13-years-old, and has been designed to improve awareness of the differences between compact fluorescent lamps, (CFLs - often known as energy-saving light bulbs) and traditional incandescent light bulbs. It also strives to communicate the necessity of recycling CFLs, rather than disposing of them with domestic waste.

The chief executive of Recolight, Nigel Harvey asserts: “The first phase of the campaign in the South-East proved very popular with pupils and teachers alike. Current public awareness of energy efficiency and being ‘green’ means this is exactly the right time to launch the scheme nationwide. It is important to teach children of the need to recycle low-energy light bulbs as it encourages these messages back into the home. Furthermore, children are the ones who, in the coming years, will be buying and recycling them once traditional bulbs are phased out.” 

Harvey stresses the benefits of CFLs, claiming that they “last much longer than traditional incandescent bulbs and people need to understand that these bulbs contain a small amount of mercury and should be recycled when they reach end-of-life. We want to show the adults of tomorrow the important role that they can play as individuals to improve the environment for future generations.”  

The programme employs a number of entertaining and engaging ways to raise children’s awareness of the issues of environment and climate change. It also spans several different subjects, such as history, ICT, English, science and design and technology and will be implemented in classrooms from September 2010.

Educators are invited to sign up for the programme for free by calling 020 8973 0040 or emailing biglightproject@rapportgroup.com for more information.