PUPILS at two Basingstoke secondary schools have been asked to sift through their own rubbish in a bid to reduce the amount of waste they produce.

Earlier in the year, pupils at Bishop Challoner and Cranbourne schools took part in a Basingstoke council education initiative - Action at School - by completing a waste audit and looking at ways of reducing the amount of rubbish they produced.

A day's worth of rubbish was collected and weighed at both schools, and then pupils took a small number of bags to sample.

They sorted through the sample bags and formed action teams to plan how to reduce the amount of waste they produce before a second waste audit in the summer term.

Pupils at Bishop Challoner were shocked to discover they had produced more than 55kg of rubbish last Monday. The waste audit revealed that most of the rubbish was paper and food packaging.

Nearly 30 pupils have now formed the school's waste action team, which was given training by environmental charity Global Action Plan.

The school has already swapped two of its 11-litre rubbish bins for recycling bins, which can take plastic bottles and paper and card.

Pupils also suggested using rough paper drawers in classrooms, encouraging people to photocopy on both sides of the page, and using some of the rubbish for art sculptures.

Sue Irvine, head of Year 8 at Bishop Challoner, said: "I think there has been a real achievement in just a few weeks since the recycling bins came.

"Most of the pupils in the action team were already fairly aware of the problem but the scheme has managed to raise awareness across the whole school. I just hope that it has a knock-on effect outside the school as well."

Three days later, pupils at Cranbourne School took part in the same exercise and took a minibus full of rubbish bags to the Salvation Army hall in Wessex Close, where 18 pupils sifted through the waste.

The same pupils, from all year groups, have now created Cranbourne's action team, which is due to discuss its ideas with geography teacher Simon Wells within the next week.

Patricia Langley, operations manager at Cranbourne, said: "We have been working with the borough council for a long time because, in a big open site like Cranbourne, there can be a real problem with litter.

"This is part of a two-pronged attack to deal with litter strewn around the site, and the volume we are dumping in the skips."

Blanche Miles, education officer at Basingstoke council, said: "We are very proud of our education initiatives, particularly as the future of the environment will eventually be in the hands of our children."

Pupils at Fort Hill Community School in Winklebury and The Hurst Community College in Baughurst are also taking part in the waste scheme.

If you know of a group or individual who is making a difference by blitzing the litter, contact Jenny Legg on 01256 337421.

And if you have a view on the litter situation in and around Basingstoke, write to The Letters Editor, Gazette Newspapers, Pelton Road, Basingstoke, RG21 6YD or e-mail editor@basingstokegazette.co.uk