London borough releases heart-warming film starring school kids in bid to tackle household waste

An east London borough which produces the most household waste in the capital has released a heart-warming video starring local schoolchildren in a bid to tackle the problem.

The average household in Barking and Dagenham produces one tonne of waste each year, 40 per cent more than the rest of London.

The council is hoping to cut down that waste by six per cent a year by 2020, which would free up an estimated £2 million to spend elsewhere.

As part of the ‘Slim your bin’ campaign, children from two primary schools were asked what they would spend the extra cash on.

Their hilarious and cheeky answers range from “five Lamborghinis” to a “hospital donation”. One young girl states: “I would probably pay people to make me the president of America.”

A cheeky lad claims: “I would buy nothing because all my sisters want my money, they would just come and steal it.”

Another, seemingly exhausted by the demands of school work, admits: “I would buy a hotel to have a break of all the work I’ve done.”

It ends with a charming girl, who says she would use the money to take the boy sat next to her to a theme park for the day.

The short film features children from St Valence Primary School in Dagenham and St Margaret’s Primary School in Barking.

Councillor Lynda Rice, Cabinet Member for Environment and Street Scene, said: “This video is a fun way of highlighting a serious issue.

“If we reduce our waste we could save council taxpayers up to £2 million by 2020 – that’s a real incentive in these tough financial times for councils.”

The figure is based on the reduction in the amount of landfill taxes and disposal costs.