Rainbow the Rhinoceros is an endearing receptacle for plastic bottle tops, situated on Stafford Moreton Way (leading up to Morrisons), to highlight plastic recycling and endangered wildlife and created as part of the Friends of Maghull and District’s (FOMD) Stafford Moreton Way Eco-Educational Project. Maghull High School and Southport Art College have used the donated bottle tops to make stunning and uplifting public mosaics, displayed on Stafford Morton Parade (near Morrisons) entitled – ‘Keep the Sea Plastic Free’.

Award-Winning

However, most of the hundred thousand full capacity bottle tops are transported to the modern Neston High School in the Wirral, where they have contributed to the school winning several awards, in each of the last three years including a prestigious national STEM education award. The award is given to the education establishment that has excelled in the provision of a first-class environment for teaching stem subjects, including ‘science, technology, engineering and maths’.

The inspiring teachers Mr Patrick Link and Mr Colin Cooper (design and technology teachers) have along with their students excelled in recycling plastic bottle tops donated by our community, into a variety of beautiful and practical artefacts. They have developed machines to help the creative process. Firstly, cleaning and sorting, then shredding so they can be melted into bespoke moulds. Not only is the physical outcome outstanding but the educational outcome within the school and in their outreach work has been unrivalled.

Their passion is irresistible and incredibly motivational, whilst always looking for the next fascinating and captivating challenge to create meaningful engaging change.

FOMD are enormously grateful to:

  • The Maghull community for their plastic bottle top donations which has helped to contribute in a small way to Neston’s thoroughly deserved prestigious accolade. It is also wonderful and endearing to see so many young children being supported by their grandparents and parents filling the rhinoceros with the plastic bottle top donations on a daily basis, hopefully reflecting on the importance of reducing plastic waste and endangered wildlife.
  • Maghull Town Council amenities team for regularly emptying the rhino, storing, bagging to enable FOMD to cleanly transport another 100.000 tops to Neston (10.10.25).
  • Nurture landscaping subcontractors to the London and Cambridge landowners, for keeping the area looking so pristine and kindly responding to a request to undertake the annual mowing of the wildflowers and cutting the neighbouring hedge that were created by FOMD.

Finally, Thank you to one and all for the donations and huge congratulations to the inspirational Neston High School teachers and students.

Full Background to SMW Project: https://www.fomd.co.uk/stafford-moreton-way/

Pictures: Patrick with a full agricultural bag of donated bottle tops that was delivered by FOMD on Tuesday (10.10.25), a small sample of the recycling outcomes and receiving their awards in London.

Friends of Maghull & District (FOMD)

Together Making Maghull a better place to live.

Volunteering Opportunities for only one hour please check our ‘Events’ tab at: www.fomd.co.uk

Contact: admin@fomd.co.uk

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