The owner of an IT recycling firm said supporting the Green School Awards was his way of giving back to the schools that had supported his business.

Urging people to submit entries, Richard Langshaw of awards judge Loop CR said: “We’ve always done a lot of business in schools. Supporting these awards is our way of saying thank you to them.”

The Green School Awards are open to primary and secondary schools across the South-East.

They are organised by the KM Charity Team, and there are six categories: green travel and road safety; energy conservation; nature conservation; health and well-being; recycling; and air pollution.

Schools have until December 7 to submit entries.

Any activities that encourage children to think about how their behaviour affects the environment are eligible for the awards, and nominated projects could include initiatives such as walking buses, recycling schemes or school gardens.

Mr Langshaw added that environmental issues had been a life-long concern of his, and that the awards were a perfect match for his business and its values.

He explained: “One of the first jobs I had was to throw away monitors because they were all working they just failed the new regulations. But those regulations wouldn’t have applied in some parts of the world, where they could have used that equipment.

“All of that equipment just went into landfill because they didn’t have anything else to do with it.

“We don’t know what effect that is going to have on things like the water table, the food chain and humans. So a long-term strategy for us was to eliminate stuff going into landfill.”

Awards organiser Karen Brinkman of the KM Charity Team said: “It means so much for us to have a company like Loop CR on board with the Green School Awards.

“A commitment to environmental sustainability is at the heart of everything they do.

“And I would urge schools to submit their nominations now. The awards are a great way to raise awareness about what we can all do to promote the well-being of the planet.”

In addition to Loop CR, the awards judges are Golding Vision, ADM Computing, Ashford International Hotel, EduKit, NCS Technology, East Kent Recycling, Kidzania and Kent and Medway councils.

Learn more about the awards and submit nominations at www.greenschoolawards.co.uk, and watch a video in which Mr Langshaw talks about Loop CR’s support for them here: