Press release - 27 Nov 2008
'Rotten Resource Centre' welcomes 5,000th visitor
An education centre in Leicestershire, which is dedicated to explaining the benefits of composting, has welcomed its 5,000th child visitor.
The ‘Rotten Resource Centre’ based at Lount, Leicestershire, is a popular attraction for school groups who want to learn more about the oldest form of recycling.
The centre is located next to a working composting facility run by the recycling and waste management company, SITA UK, with education delivered by Groundwork Leicester & Leicestershire, and is funded by Leicestershire County Council.
Earlier this month, pupils from The Latimer Primary School in Anstey helped the centre reach the landmark. To say thank you, County Council Deputy Leader Nicholas Rushton, Gareth Swain (SITA UK) and Groundwork, planted a tree at the school.
As the site is a working facility, children get to see how compost is produced, learn about the microbial processes that help turn organic waste into compost and find out how composting helps the environment.
Sara Smith, Education Officer at Groundwork, said: "The centre is very popular with schools because we really bring the subject to life for children. Children are able to see the composting process up-close for themselves, which is important to get them interested. Back in the centre we carry out activities that apply the subject to different areas of the curriculum such as habitats, food chains and even maths.
"We run two school visits a week, with a group of 30 students for each visit."
Nicholas Rushton, Leicestershire County Council Deputy Leader, said: "By supporting this facility and enabling school children to visit and learn about composting and recycling, the County Council is making a long term commitment to encourage people to divert waste from landfill and help protect the environment"
Gareth Swain from SITA UK said: "We are delighted with the success of the centre. Being able to show children what happens to their green waste and how this material can be used to make quality compost on a large scale and in a safe environment is something that we are really proud of at SITA UK. It brings to life the importance of resource management and sustainability and how we can all make a difference to the environment."
Leicestershire County Council supports the trips through providing funding to enable the centre to run and school groups to visit. The trips help raise awareness of the need to manage waste on an individual level.
School groups in key stage 2 (aged 7 -11) can arrange a visit to the centre by calling Sara Smith on 0116 222 0238.
