THE Millions of Reasons to Recycle campaign from Scottish Borders Council has proven to be a social media smash hit with over 17,000 views of Stow Primary School's explanatory video.

The video features Borders primary school children explaining the importance of recycling and what damage can be done if we don't recycle properly.

Stow Primary’s Millions of Reasons to Recycle video has had over 17,000 views so far on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The pupils chosen to star in the video had been recognised for their approach to improving sustainability in the school and at home, and were asked to share their knowledge of recycling.

The children were asked about the financial implications of not cycling as well as the environmental impact on wildlife and nature.

Millions of Reasons to Recycle shares the shocking statistic that 70 per cent of the waste which is put into the general kerbside bins could have been recycled had it been separated.

Separating this was could have a significant impact on the environment, and would save £1.1 million from landfill tax every year.

Thanks to '100 Disrupters', Stow Primary was awarded funding last year. The competition from The Hunter Foundation is open to young people and encourages them to ‘positively disrupt’ their communities by carrying out a series of environmental activities.

In order to win this funding Stow Primary was the first school in Scotland to introduce a reverse vending machine, which gives out money for plastic bottle deposits, requesting metal cutlery instead of plastic and reaching out to SBC and NHS Borders asking them to reduce their plastic waste.

The school is also shortlisted for the Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Awards in the Schools Champion category, with the winner announced tomorrow (Thursday, November 21). Stow is the only Scottish school to make it to the final shortlist.

Stow is also one of 19 Borders schools that have signed up for the Council’s Zero Waste School Champions pilot project, which runs until early 2020 and aims to help pupils carry out positive schemes to encourage their families and communities to put the right stuff in the right bin.

In the video, pupils describe their disappointment when they see people failing to recycle and the impact on the environment, with comments including: "I will be sad for the polar bears if the ice melts.

"When people don’t recycle it makes me really angry and really sad".

Debbie Matthewson, Stow Primary Principal Teacher, said: "Our pupils have worked tirelessly over the past 18 months to change people’s mindsets and habits around single use plastic and recycling.

"They are passionate about sharing their learning on the importance of recycling and the negative impact it has globally when items are not being recycled properly.

"Although at times they can get frustrated and sad when they see or hear of people not recycling properly they do remain positive that what they are doing is making a difference and ultimately they hope their voice will be heard."

Councillor Gordon Edgar, SBC’s Executive Member for Roads and Infrastructure, and Energy Efficiency Champion, added: "Alongside a number of other schools in the Borders, Stow Primary has been leading the conversation in their community on the issue of the environment and we were delighted they agreed to take part in our Millions of Reasons to Recycle campaign.

"The children express their opinions in a fun but also thoughtful manner in the video, highlighting their concerns and the various reasons why recycling is so important.

"Their message appears to have resonated with audiences on social media, judging by the thousands of views so far.

"The Millions of Reasons to Recycle campaign follows the opening of a new waste transfer station near Galashiels this summer, which means the Borders is now a landfill-free area and should help improve recycling figures.

"However we all still need to do more, which is why we are taking forward the Millions of Reasons to Recycle message."

Visit www.scotborders.gov.uk/millionsofreasons for more information on the campaign and on what items can and cannot be recycled.

And to watch Stow Primary School's video, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkTMRDKbadM&t=2s