June 2007

Five young people from throughout the UK are being sought for a prestigious project, which will see them represent their country at a European level.

Valpak, the UK's leading compliance scheme, is looking for a group of young people aged between 14 and 16 to represent the UK at this esteemed event. Five students from the winning school will be sent on an all expenses paid trip to the Youth Eco-Parliament in Prague, in May 2008. The winning school and one runner up will also receive an award from the Rt. Hon John Gummer MP, and go on a tour of the Houses of Parliament as part of their prize in October this year.

The competition is based around a project proposal being written, based on this year's theme of "Managing our waste and natural resources". This should focus on the topics of waste, water or energy. The project can be anything from focusing on recycling in your school, to reducing the amount of energy your school uses. It can be something that your school is either working on now or could implement over the coming months.

Valpak's partners in this impressive project are British Polythene Industries and Garnier.

"This is an exciting and important project, and a fantastic opportunity for schools to represent their country in Europe", commented Youth Eco-Parliament organiser Samantha Blades, "We are proud to have so many leading industry partners who will help us to raise the profile of UK recycling on a European level."

The closing date for proposal entries is 1 August 2007. For more information on the competition or the Youth Eco-Parliament please log on to www.recycle-more.co.uk.