Plastic red nose boycott for Comic Relief by Cardiff school

Pupils at a school in Cardiff are not wearing red noses for Comic Relief on Friday in order to take a stand against the use of plastic.

Instead, children at Ysgol Treganna will paint their noses red as they attempt to raise money for the charity.

Pupil Mia wrote to the school asking to boycott the red noses over the harm plastic causes to sea life.

Comic Relief said it respected the decision and was working on finding alternatives for the future.

Radnor School, also in Cardiff, is also asking students to ditch red noses.

Mia said: "I wrote a letter to the school suggesting we don't wear red noses as I thought it was a good idea because it's made of plastic and it goes into the sea and harms sea life."

Fellow pupil Tomos said: "The plastic noses are only used for one day and after that they are binned which can really harm nature."

Comic Relief previously said its red noses, which are made of polyurethane foam, could be recycled at Sainsbury's stores.

Red noses have been used to promote the charity since 1988.

Bethan, who will also be painting her nose red, said: "There are not many uses for the red nose as a toy. It's just there to put on your nose for a day and I don't think you're going to walk around every day with a red nose."

Comic Relief said: "We of course respect the students' decision and are thrilled and excited that they are still supporting Red Nose Day by painting their noses red and fundraising.

"We are working with our corporate partners and a responsible sourcing consultancy to explore alternatives and solutions for the future."