The youngster managed to save thousands of the plastic tubs. (Image: BBC)
A young boy on a mission to protect the environment has saved more than 2,500 plastic confectionery tubs from being dumped in landfill.
Not all councils are able to recycle the tubs if they’re left at the kerbside, and Teddy, 6, from Netley in Hampshire, was determined to ensure he could prevent as many as he could in his area from being binned.
Speaking to the , Teddy said: “I’d heard we can’t recycle these tubs in our normal recycling bin but I wanted to change that so I can save the world.
“We have one planet and we need to look after it,” he added.
Teddy, whose hero is celebrated nature documentarian , told the that last year he collected 358 of the tubs, in which things like sweets and chocolates are sold.
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Teddy told the BBC we have ‘one planet and we need to look after it’. (Image: BBC)
The youngster wrote a letter to his school, which then sent out a letter to parents.
Teddy was helped by family members, with his mum Laura put posters up in businesses in the area with him, and he even asked his grandfather to visit the local tip to ask them to save any tubs that had been thrown away.
He also went online to promote his efforts, writing in a post on Facebook that he is an “eco-warrior on a mission” and warning that “hundreds of thousands of [tubs] go to landfill or the ocean”.
This year, Teddy had a target of saving 500 tubs, which he far exceeded, collecting 2,598 in just a month, as per the broadcaster.
Teddy’s mum Laura said he is “realising now the issues we have, and is really keen on trying to get the message out there, and inspiring others to make a difference”.
“It doesn’t matter what change you’re making or how big or small, it does make a difference to our environment,” she said, adding: “People have been so supportive and kind getting behind him.
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Teddy’s mum Laura (R) said he’s ‘inspiring others to make a difference’ (Image: BBC)
“Every time we come home there’s more tubs left on the doorstep, friends have told friends who’ve told friends and every tub makes the difference.”
Teddy, who aspired to be either a marine biologist or a stunt man when he grows up, collected the thousands of plastic tubs as part of Greene King’s Tub2Pub charity appeal, a recycling campaign to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support and recycle plastics, according to its .
The campaign says clean, empty plastic confectionery and cracker tubs can be brought to any Greene King-managed site until February 16, 2025, to be recycled.
They ask people to leave tubs with Greene King staff members at the bar or welcome station within one of their locations.
“All tubs will be collected and taken to a plastic reprocessing centre where they’re shredded, before being sold onto plastic manufacturers to use in place of virgin plastics,” the website says, with all money raised from the sale of Tub2Pub plastics given directly to Macmillan Cancer Support.
Following his momentous achievement, Teddy admitted, “I’m going to have a break. I’ve done it for two years straight!”