Young artists are being invited to take part in a competition to share a positive environmental message with other people, via the side of each recycling truck in the borough.

Greener Ealing Ltd, Ealing Council’s refuse, recycling and grounds maintenance contractor, is launching the competition to school pupils in the borough.

Entrants must draw, colour or paint a design that will remind residents of their environmental responsibilities. This might include recycling household items correctly, putting rubbish in a bin or ways to help climate change.

You must be 18 or younger and attend a school in the borough to take part.

Winners will see their artwork reproduced to appear on a Greener Ealing truck and also win a prize for their school.

Kevin O’Leary, managing director for Greener Ealing, said: “There is a lot of young talent in the borough and I am really keen to see the ideas and messages that are sent to us. We want each truck to have eye-catching artwork on them, so people stop and take notice of the messages they carry. Climate change is such an important topic and we want to get young people talking about it and how everyone can do something to make a positive change to the environment.”

Ealing Council adopted a Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy earlier this year and it is committed to using its influence to reduce emissions emitted across the borough, and help to mitigate climate change and reduce the loss of plants and wildlife.

Councillor Deirdre Costigan, the council’s cabinet member for climate action, said: “I think we will see some fantastic artwork and really important environmental messages from young students. I am really interested to see what kind of things they think are important for people to be reminded of. Will it be reducing waste, littering, recycling, using energy efficiently or even a thanks to the staff who collect our rubbish and keep the streets clean? Or, something completely different?”

The competition will be judged by Kevin O’Leary, Councillor Costigan and Ealing artist Jessica Rose.

Closing date

• 5pm on Sunday, 25 July 2021
• Winners will be announced in August and could be featured on this website and/or Around Ealing magazine.

How to enter

• To enter you need to send us a photo or scanned image of your #GreenerEaling masterpiece
• There are three age categories: Six and under, seven-12 and 13-18 years
• You can post a picture of your creation on Instagram with the hashtag #greenerealing and tag @greenerealing
• Or you can email it to GELcommunications@ealing.gov.uk
• Include a caption of no more than 50 words that sums up your entry
• Say which age category you are entering
• Your entry should include your with name, age and school
• The artwork needs to be A3 or A4 in landscape format (paper sideways on, not upright) to fit the shape of the area on the trucks.