BURY schoolchildren are being given a valuable insight into where their rubbish ends up after it's removed by the bin- men.

And it's thanks to environmental regeneration charity Groundwork Bury which is organising children's visits to the Pilsworth Landfill site under a new project.

This latest tour of the Pilsworth site by children from St Thomas's CE primary, Bury, was one of hundreds being carried out around the country as part of the national RMC Greenlink programme, which is sponsored by the Environment Fund through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

Behind the initiative is the aim to give children a better understanding of how an individual decision can have an impact on the environment by giving them a behind the scene look at a landfill site.

Year five and six pupils of Pimhole Road-based St Thomas's have already taken part in a "waste and recycling" workshop run by Groundwork Bury. The children did a lot of re-using making hand-made paper, gift bags, picture frames and junk monsters from waste. And year five youngsters will be delivering a fashion show later in the term.

During the visit to Pilsworth landfill site, year six were shown how a landfill site operates and deals with all the rubbish produced. They got the chance to question the unit manager Dan Oldroyd on how the company is minimising the impact on the environment.

Groundwork Bury project officer Sheridan Hilton says: "This project has caused a lot of discussion between the children to raise awareness of waste and recycling. This scheme helps businesses play their part in the local community and allows children to learn about their local environment and how their decisions will affect it now and in later life."