YOUNGSTERS at Beaumont Hill Technology College have been praised for their efforts to get more young people recycling.

For the past eight months, a group of pupils has been encouraging children and staff at the school to recycle aluminium cans. So far, they have collected enough cans to fill 150 wheelie bins. The team was given specially-designed recycling T-shirts by Darlington Borough Council's waste minimisation and recycling team to help them get their green message across to students and staff.

The school has been collecting paper to recycle for several years and its work with the Prince's Trust led students to think about other ways of helping the environment. They approached the council, which helped them set up the can recycling scheme.

Stephen Harker, council cabinet member for consumer and environmental services, said: "I'm very impressed with what the pupils at Beaumont Hill have achieved - collecting so many cans and encouraging other people to recycle.

"It is important that we encourage children to think about recycling and the environment from a young age. The commitment of the Beaumont Hill pupils deserves to be recognised."

The young recyclers were presented with certificates to mark their achievement.