Nicola Jones, packaging recycling education manager from Tata Steel UK, held a workshop about smelting metal and how old cans can be recycled with children at Hay-on-Wye primary school.
Nicola told the childen how metal is made from scratch with iron ore and then explained how it can be remade by remelting old cans. The children were shown details of furnace temperatures and different melting points for different metals. Some of the exercises in Nicola’s presentation are designed to conform with aspects key stage 2 mathematics and science.
The school visits are part of Powys County Council’s ongoing ‘Metal Matters’ campaign to encourage everyone to recycle more steel and aluminium cans, tins, aluminium trays, foil and aerosols.
On behalf of the Metal Matters campaign, James Thompson, senior waste awareness and enforcement officer at Powys council, said: “We are delighted to have secured sponsorship from the metal reprocessing industry for this campaign and our local partners Tata have been visiting schools to help local children understand the importance of recycling.
“Tata steel are the biggest steel recyclers in Britain and they’re based right here on our doorstep in South Wales. So it’s great for our economy and our environment to support British industry by recycling more.”