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Starmer praises six-year-old recycling campaigner

Marcus White
BBC News
The Prime Minister said six-year-old Teddy's recycling efforts were "incredible"

A six-year-old boy who collected more than 2,500 sweet tubs to save them from landfill has won support from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

MPs in the House of Commons chamber waved and smiled at Teddy, from Netley in Hampshire, as his achievement was raised earlier by MP Paul Holmes.

At Prime Minister's Questions, the Conservative asked Sir Keir whether he agreed that "you are never too little to make a big difference".

Sir Keir told Teddy, who was in the public gallery with his mother Laura, that his achievement was "incredible" and a government minister would meet the family to discuss the future of plastic tub recycling.

Teddy wears a white jumper and jeans. He has short light brown hair. His arms are raised in triumph. He is in a warehouse full of thousands of sweet tubs, including Heroes, Quality Street, and Celebrations.
Teddy has collected more than 2,500 plastic confectionery tubs

Teddy spent two years collecting the tubs, which are typically sold with chocolates, sweets, or crackers inside.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Paul Holmes, the MP for Hamble Valley, said: "Teddy is a self-professed eco warrior on a mission to change the world.

"He started out by saving thousands of plastic chocolate and sweet tubs from landfill because they're not currently recyclable.

"Will the Prime Minister commit to asking his minister for local government to meet Teddy and myself to discuss how we make these tubs recyclable.

"And does he agree with me that no matter how small you are, you are never too little to make a big difference?"

Teddy standing on a stone staircase with a stained glass window behind. The six-year-old boy is wearing a yellow shirt with an orange lanyard around his neck. He is standing with MP Paul Holmes who has his arm around Teddy's shoulder. He is wearing a dark suit with a red tie.
Teddy and his mother watched Prime Minister's Questions from the public gallery

Sir Keir welcomed Teddy and his mother, as MPs waved and smiled at the public gallery.

He said: "Many of us struggle for a whole lifetime to make an impact on government policy.

"Teddy is already having an impact and I'll make sure that he gets to speak to the relevant minister."

The six-year-old, whose hero is Sir David Attenborough, collected the tubs as part of Greene King's Tub2Pub charity appeal, which takes collections to a plastic reprocessing centre.

He previously 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."

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