PUPILS got their hands dirty in a town centre clean up that gave them the lowdown on litter.

The children from Nythe Primary School collected rubbish and learnt about which materials can be recycled during their visit.

The day was organised by inSwindon in partnership with McDonald’s.

Following a health and safety talk by a member of the inSwindon Street Team, the children split into teams to collect the litter and split it into recyclable and non-recyclable.

The children were given a presentation from Swindon Commercial Services about the importance of recycling.

They were then presented with certificates by the new mayor of Swindon, Rex Barnett, and had lunch at McDonald’s.

The visit is part of a wider project on recycling involving the whole school.

The school has appointed ‘eco-warriors’, students who are responsible for saving energy by turning off lights, taps and other equipment around the school, and a special waste-free lunchbox day was organised by teachers.

Rita Cockram, who teaches the 34 children involved from Squirrels Class, said the children had been ‘very excited’ about the visit.

“This is a good, fun and practical way for the children to learn about recycling,” she said. Paul Booth, from McDonald’s said: “It’s important that children learn about recycling from a young age, so it’s fantastic to have this opportunity to work with Nythe Primary School and inSwindon.

“We all have a responsibility to recycle and I think it’s important that businesses like McDonald’s do our bit to help educate young people so that we get as many people recycling as possible and cut down on waste.”