A TALENTED seven-year-old has taught the grown-ups a thing or two by winning a competition to help Somerset families recycle food waste into clean green power.

Catherine Taylor, who is in Year 3 St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Burnham, was among thousands of children from all over the county who were invited to design posters promoting recycling using Somerset’s new anaerobic digestion (AD) facility and its billions of “burping bacteria”.

As well as the best posters winning green prizes of eco-educational activities for each pupil’s class, winning designs will feature in a Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) campaign next year to prompt families to recycle more food waste and reduce landfill.

SWP managing director Steve Read said: “Colourful, creative and committed to recycling; these posters show that the next generation is taking an inspiring lead to help everyone in Somerset avoid landfill and generate clean, green power.

“They persuade each family to put every scrap of unavoidable food waste into their kerbside container to feed the AD facility’s burping bacteria.”

The contest was part of a new educational pack encouraging children to become experts on the science of the £10 million AD facility built near Bridgwater by recycling company Viridor.

It will turn all Somerset’s household food waste into methane and burn it to generate electricity.