A partner school of Wolves Foundation, who were crowned winners of a Social Action challenge, have seen their sustainability project come to life thanks to one of the charity’s pack patrons.
St Mary’s Primary School in Albrighton came up with the idea to recycle waste disposed of on a matchday at Molineux, and turn it into something worthwhile and sustainable.
Circular economy specialists and Foundation pack patron, Reconomy, were delighted to provide additional support and expertise, with plastics disposed of during the final Wolves’ home game of the 2025/26 season collected, segregated and recycled.
Those recycled plastics were then used in the production of a new bench, which has now been delivered to St Mary’s School to be used by students and visitors along with serving as a reminder of the power of recycling and sustainability.
David Seal, head of circular solutions at Reconomy, said: “Approximately 60 kilograms of clean, recyclable matchday plastics were used in the production of the bench.
“It is wonderful to find a reuse solution for these plastics that prevent them from becoming waste, has provided the school with a great new resource, and celebrates its commitment to sustainability and circularity.”
The students involved in the project, which saw St Mary’s crowned as winners from 16 different entries, were thrilled both to see their creativity come to life but also the arrival of the bench.
“I feel proud because it’s ours and our idea to support making Molineux more sustainable,” said Murphy.
“It feels amazing because we can return to school when we are older and something we created will still be here for everyone to remember our hard work,” added Ralph.
“Taking part in the social action challenge, we wanted to stop rubbish going to landfill, so we wanted to make sure the waste was being used for a good purpose,” said Jenson.
“It’s great to be part of the solution to a problem,” added Henry, whilst Max said: “If we didn’t think about the planet, all our planet would just turn into rubbish landfills and not be a nice sight.”
The original event at Molineux was delivered as part of the Foundation’s Premier League Primary Stars programme, which saw partner schools challenged with the idea of coming up with a sustainability project over a six-week programme.
The final entries were then presented in a Dragon’s Den style format, at which St Mary’s was voted best by the panel.
“It’s so good for the children to see their sustainable project live on into the future,” said Natalie Milhavy-Jones, headteacher at St Mary’s.
“The event was amazing, and all the students were able to use their skills and showcase their ideas to others, rather than just our own school.
“Being able to share something – whether they won or not – is a great life skill to have.”
Premier League Primary Stars uses the positive power of professional football clubs to inspire children to be active, look after their wellbeing and develop important life skills.
Social action projects such as the one which has now led to the new bench being installed, are among many additional activations enjoyed by the Foundation’s partner schools.
“This particular challenge, which we delivered as part of our Premier League Primary Stars programme, produced so many fantastic projects about recycling and protecting the environment, alongside a great morning spent at Molineux,” said Richard Lewis, schools manager with Wolves Foundation.
“What is also so worthwhile about this particular initiative is that not only did we have such a positive event with so many brilliant ideas, but that the winning proposal was then taken on and has actually been produced.
“That it was Reconomy, one of our Foundation pack patrons, who then brought the idea to life with the bench now taking pride of place at St Mary’s, once again shows the strength of partnership working and the considerable social value of the project.”
