Children have declared war on street rubbish by setting up their own enterprise to buy litter pick kits and selling them to schools in Harold Hill to raise public awareness about rubbish dumping.

Pupils at Drapers’ Maylands Primary School were invited by the Social Enterprise Schools organisation to a Dragons’ Den-style competition to pitch their ideas.

Maylands pupils present their litter-pick enterprise to dragons' den judgesPupils present their litter pick enterprise idea to judges (Image: Drapers Maylands)

They decided they wanted to try and reduce the amount of fast food litter in the streets around Harold Hill and spread awareness to the community and to other schools in their area.

The young eco warriors, who are members of their school’s own eco-committee, presented their design to a panel of judges for a product that would help to improve the environment.

They had raised £130 enterprisingly to buy litter picking kits which they could sell to other schools to encourage them to get involved in the project. The money they raised was enough to buy ten litter picking kits. 

The judges were impressed with their enterprise and determination to try and stop the litter problem and handed them a Community Champions award for their dedication to their community.

But the young members of Drapers' Maylands Primary’s own eco-committee have not stopped there. They put their products to use and went out on litter picks to help reduce the throw-away culture in their neighbourhood.

The young eco warriors collected 12kg of litter during one litter pick operation on July 8 outside the school and around Harold Hill, which they admit took them by surprise.

Now they plan to continue raising public awareness about dropping litter in public in the near future.

Social Enterprise Schools is a programme led by pupils which is run by social entrepreneurs who help organise groups of young people to engage in projects that can also turn a profit.

According to its website, it aims to inspire young people to create a real-life social enterprise in school, supporting them as they launch their idea and social change.

It says it asks young people to reflect on their local communities and "identify an issue that they genuinely care about and want to solve".