Youngsters at Princess May pledged to use reusable water bottles at all their sports events at the launch of a Premier League initiative encouraging kids to make small changes to tackle plastic pollution.

Former Arsenal Ladies captain and Sky Sports presenter Alex Scott went to the Stoke Newington primary school in Princess May Road to help kids come up with their ideas for the Plastic Pollution Challenge.

The government has asked all schools to eliminate single-use disposable plastic by 2022. Premier League and Sky hope their global reach and appeal can raise awareness of the environmental issues caused by plastic pollution, and free teaching resources are available online.

According to Greenpeace about 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since the 50s – the weight of roughly a billion elephants. Some 79pc of this has ended up in landfills or the environment. It is estimated up to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic enters the oceans every year.

Head teacher Kevin Reynolds told the Gazette: “It’s about getting the children to realise that when they have water out of a plastic bottle it can end up in the sea, and educating them to ensure that doesn’t happen by using reusable water bottles.

“They might just think it’s one plastic bottle, but if everyone changed their behaviour it could have an impact on oceans and wildlife. A lot of adults have a lot of engrained habits, myself included, and children are only doing what their parents are doing, but they can change their own behaviour, and that or their parents with pester power.

“Obviously children are fanatic about football and Arsenal is a mile down the road, and having Alex gave a real buzz around the whole project.”

Alex, an ambassador for the campaign Sky Ocean Rescue, added: “I’m passionate about working with young people to create a positive change around this important issue. Children are the future and will suffer most at the hands of single-use plastic and so I’m excited to see the kids taking a lead today, pledging to make changes to help save our planet.”

The event fitted in with the eco-agenda at Princess May, where pupils and staff are focused on becoming as environmentally friendly as possible, from fitting LED lights, reducing paper use and running a kids’ eco-club to come up with new ideas.