YOUNG recyclers, Mildred and Edith Harris, have collected over 20,000 crisp packets, raising £100 for Wiltshire Air Ambulance.
They are also applying to receive a Blue Peter green badge for their efforts to protect the environment.
Sisters, Mildred who is 11 and Edith who is 4, have been collecting crisp packets in conjunction with Terracycle, an innovative recycling company taking hard-to-recycle waste and reusing, upcycling and recycling it instead of being incinerated or going to landfill.
The waste is then swapped for money and donated to charity, in this case Wiltshire Air Ambulance.
They had many ‘crisp packet drop-off points’ in the community including their school, Bitham Brook, White Horse Health Centre, Horningsham Primary School, the Scout Hut, Westbury Rugby Club, Westbury Conservative Club and Mears Care in Devizes where people could drop off crisp packets.
Altogether, so far, they have collected 60kg worth, and have lost count after reaching 20,000, but the girls are still continuing with the collection.
Mildred said, “I wanted to do this because I watched Blue Planet with my dad and saw what all the plastic was doing to the wildlife and wanted to do my bit to help. We chose Wiltshire Air Ambulance because me, my sister Maisie and my mum, Alexis, all play rugby. It is a sport where the air ambulance is often needed, having seen it used a few times.
“One week alone we collected over 1,900 crisp packets and we spend most weekends collecting and bagging them up ready to send off!”
