Recycling is good for the environment. It can also do good to a community in surprising ways. Brian, a 15-year-old boy, knows this well. In 2020, he started a community recycling program to offer help to football clubs in his hometown, Wyre. It now has 3, 000 participants (参与者) .
When Brian was 11, he played football with Fleetwood Town F. C. The club was new and needed money to travel to Premier League (英超联赛). Brian came up with a plan. "There were bottles always thrown around the road," he said. "In Wyre, these can be collected for money." With his father's help, Brian started a bottle drive. Since then, Brian's recycling effort has raised £35, 000 and helped at least 20 local youth groups. It has also stopped more than 200, 000 bottles from littering the roadside and polluting Wyre's lakes and rivers. "It's kept our community a lot cleaner." he says.
In 2023, Brian won The Duke of Edinburgh's Prize for young heroes. The prize goes to kids and teenagers working to help others and protecting Planet Earth. "I'm happy to know that all these clubs and kids around the community are benefiting (受益)", Brian says, when asked about all he's finished with his cleanup effort.
Brian believes everyone can—and should—be of service. "Just do a little bit to help make the world a little bit of a better place," he says. "Be creative", he adds. "Have an idea and build on it."
① Brian came up with a plan to raise money.
② Brian started a bottle drive with his father's help.
③ Brian played football with Fleetwood Town F. C.
④ Brian won The Duke of Edinburgh's Prize for young heroes.
