PUPILS at an Eastleigh school have been rummaging through their rubbish bins to see exactly what they throw away.

The results surprised them - they found that a typical day's waste could be drastically reduced.

"It is amazing to actually see what the school throws away each day," said teacher Sarah Barnett.

She added that the school will put its faith in the three Rs: "As part of our citizenship programme we are going to look at ways of reusing, reducing and recycling our rubbish."

Now there will be a big effort by pupils to round up cans and plastic bottles for the recycling bins and the school will be introducing new practices that will see reduced use of photocopiers and of paper generally. A second waste audit will be carried out in March next year to see if the school has been successful.

Eastleigh council's recycling officer Martyn Cole said: "Its really promising to see Crestwood School taking responsibility for its waste and trying to find solutions to reduce it.

"We hope that by encouraging pupils to think about their waste at school they will take the message home."