A CHESTER school has joined the UK's largest crisp packet recycling scheme in aid of Chester Zoo's Never Forget campaign.

Every year countless crisp packets are sent to the landfill sites and, as a part of The Firs Prep School's environment awareness and curriculum, the school has been named as the new crisp packet drop-off location in Newton Lane, Chester.

The Walkers recycling scheme accepts all brands and is the largest and fast-growing scheme in the UK.

Collected packets are dropped off at Chester Zoo where it is sent to recycling firm Terracycle, where they are converted into plastic pellets and given a new life as outdoor furniture and trays.

For every kilogram of crisp packet collected, The Firs Prep School earns a point which turns into pounds and given towards Chester Zoo's Never Forget campaign, which carries out vital research into elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV), a highly fatal disease in young Asian elephants.

The mission, set by pupils and staff, is to recycle 8kg of crisp packets in six months.

They are calling on all friends and family to keep hold of finished crisp packets and pass them to The Firs Prep School to recycle and in turn contribute to global conservation.

This initiative is the latest addition to the school's growing green credentials which include being recognised at the Independent Schools Association Green School Awards with an ISA Green School status and becoming the first school in Chester to support Chester Zoo's Sustainable Palm Oil Challenge Campaign, to make Chester the world's first Sustainable Palm Oil City.

Headteacher Rosemary Blackburn said: "It is a privilege and an honour to do the job that I do, providing pupils with both the academic and non-academic foundations that will prepare them for life.

"And a huge part of this is educating them about the world around them and how they can contribute to it, as such environmental awareness and sustainability are an intrinsic part of our curriculum.

"This ranges from our green initiatives to save energy and recycle, to creating special hard-wearing eco-bricks from non-recyclable plastic wrapping to make a wonderful eco-bench, and to our Forest School activities."

Laura Howley, procurement and systems manager at Chester Zoo, added: "The city of Chester is making great moves to tackle a number of key environmental issues to prevent extinction and it's truly inspiring that The Firs School, having been one of the first schools in the UK to commit to our sustainable palm oil project, are now embracing the recycling scheme."

To find out more about Chester Zoo's Never Forget campaign, visit www.chesterzoo.org/what-you-can-do/campaigns/never-forget.