Portree High School wins Waste Awareness Film Competition

A group of pupils from Portree High school have won the recent film competition run by The Highland Council to promote greater awareness of waste and recycling. Runner-up in the competition was Alness Academy pupil, Josie Tolliday.

The winning script is an animation based around a cowboy builder called 'Ronnie Rubbish' who refuses to recycle and fly tips his waste - eventually resulting in the emergence of a green slug-like creature called Scabbers who begins to take over the town consuming everything in sight. Ronnie Rubbish comes to see the error of his ways, becomes an avid recycler and harnesses Scabbers voracious appetite to help the environment.

During the autumn term the group of pupils, under the guidance of support teacher, Greg Dobson, will work with film-maker, John McGeoch of Evanton-based Company, Arts in Motion, to produce their film. Stop frame animation, blue screen and cut-out and photo collage are all techniques that the group will employ.

The Highland Council will use the film across the region to raise waste awareness and promote the 3Rs message of 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.'

Raising recycling levels is a theme particularly relevant to pupils of Portree High School at present as a 6 month trial of a new collection scheme commences in Skye and Lochalsh on the 6th September; this will see collections of the blue recycling bins increased to fortnightly, alternating with a fortnightly refuse collection. The Scottish government is committed to seeing recycling rates rise to 70% by 2024 - the present recycling rate in The Highland Council area is 35%.

A premier of the film, along with a 'behind the scenes' video diary, of its making is planned for later in the year.