Pupils at a Blackpool primary school are flying the flag for a new recycling initiative in a bid to turn rubbish into school supplies.

Children at Revoe Primary School are amongst the first in the county to sign up for the new Recycling Rewards for Schools scheme which offers thousands of prizes for primary schools and pupils in exchange for recruiting family, friends and neighbours into a recycling network.

Funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and launched by Lancashire Waste Partnership and Blackpool Council last month, the project runs on a points reward scheme from now until the end of March and aims to ease the pressure on landfill sites.

The challenge for pupils is get their family, friends and neighbours to pledge that they will start recycling their rubbish.

Graeme Dow, Revoe Primary School headteacher, said: "This is a fantastic way for us to get really useful equipment for our school, and we would urge parents and local residents to support us.

"At the same time, it's also a fun and rewarding way for us to teach our pupils about being environmentally aware and the benefits of recycling."

Blackpool Council's waste minimisation officer, Jennifer Perkins said: "We can't bury our head in the sand as we bury our rubbish, hoping that it will go away.

"We must all learn to recycle more and help preserve the environment for our children."