Clevedon School is helping to ‘save the planet’ by cutting its use of thousands of plastic bottles.

%image(14204372, type="article-full", alt="Clevedon School pupils watching Waterhouse contractors fitting a "Hydration Station."")

The school, in Valley Road, will stop using around 66,000 plastic bottles a year and is instead encouraging pupils to take their own bottles to school.

Bristol Water has also been working closely with the school on the project and has installed new water fountains, known as hydration stations, around the site for students to use.

Headteacher Jim Smith said: “We are absolutely delighted to be doing this project with Bristol Water.

“Our students are all on board and excited to be doing our bit to save the planet.”

%image(14204373, type="article-full", alt="Clevedon School pupils filling up their bottles at the cafeteria.")

A Bristol Water spokesman added: “We are delighted to work on this project with Clevedon School.

“Reducing plastic waste is something we are extremely passionate about.

“This new installation adds to our fountain programme, which has two fountains in Bristol and more to come over the next few years.”

A new tank has been installed in the school’s canteen to allow pupils to enjoy some tasty flavoured water while students have each been given their own colourful bottle to fill up and take with them to lessons.

%image(14204371, type="article-full", alt="Clevedon School pupils with some of the old plastic bottles which they will be replacing with reuseable ones.")

Clevedon School is now starting a drive to stop using disposable plastics – such as straws, cutlery and takeaway boxes – with eight million tons of the material ending up in the world’s oceans each year, affecting the ecosystem and killing marine life.

MORE: Cleaner Coastlines campaign launched.

Around 36 million plastic bottles are used in the UK each year but only 21 million of those are actually collected for recycling.

The Times launched its own campaign to crack down on the amount of single-use plastics used across the district earlier this year.

The scheme, which is being run in conjunction with both the Times’ sister paper the Weston Mercury and North Somerset Council, is aiming to earn the district Plastic-Free Coastline status from Surfers Against Sewage, a national grassroots movement aiming to clean up beaches across the UK.

For more information or to get involved, search for Cleaner Coastlines: Weston and North Somerset plastic-free campaign on Facebook.