A third wave of schools opening for eco refills, the largest yet!
We are excited to introduce a new third wave of Greater Manchester schools taking part in the GM School Eco Refill Shop programme. An amazing 19 schools have opened their doors to customers selling lovely refill products.
Alongside the excitement of a new enterprise being added within the school community, hosting a pupil-led school shop is no easy task. Before opening their doors for business, each school receives an Enterprise Training Pack which includes real life forms and an online training experience. Then the recruitment process takes place, where each school has to recruit an Enterprise Team from their pupils, all keen to be part of their school’s new venture. Pupils go through a real-life experience of identifying their current business skills and start to apply for their preferred roles.
This is the third year that GMCA has rolled out this programme, and momentum to host a shop across Greater Manchester has really taken off. With the support of ethical enterprise Pupils Profit, kind financial donations from partners Next Energy and Suez Recycling and Recovery UK, and additional support from Salford and Rochdale local authorities, we have enabled the most schools yet to join the programme – 19!
With many of the shop launches having already taken place, there’s been a buzz across school communities. Castleton Primary School invited their Mayor and local MP Elsie Blundell to officially open their shop, and the shop at Beech Hill Community Primary School in Wigan was also featured in Wigan Today.
2026 School Eco Refill Shop Launches
Your 2026 School Eco Refill Shops and their openings:
- Aspull Church Primary School, Wigan – 27th Jan – Aspull Takes Action
- Beech Hill Community Primary School, Wigan – 30th Jan – Beech Hill Refill
- Belfield Community Primary School, Rochdale – 30th Jan – Refill Rescue Crew
- Blackshaw Lane Primary School, Oldham – Opening tbc
- Brooklands Primary School, Trafford – 30th Jan – The Refill Revolution
- Castleton Primary School, Rochdale – 29th Jan – Castleton Refill Rescuers
- Chantlers Primary School, Bury – 23rd Feb – Bottle Bouncers
- Davyhulme Primary School, Trafford – 26th Feb – DPS Refillers
- Eagley Junior School, Bolton – 12th Feb – Eagley ECO Refills
- Heap Bridge Primary School, Rochdale – 30th Jan – Eco Essentials @ Heap Bridge
- Marlborough Road Academy, Salford – 9th Feb – Refill Warriors
- Micklehurst All Saints Community Primary School, Tameside – 14th Feb – Refill Revolution
- Spindle Point Primary School, Bolton – 26th Feb
- St Barnabas Church of England Primary Academy, Manchester – 11th Feb – We Fill, You Fill
- St Boniface Roman Catholic Primary School, Salford – 23rd Feb – Bonnie’s Rainbow Refill
- The Gates Primary School, Bolton – 25th Feb
- Lark Hill Community Primary School, Salford – 25th Feb
- River View Primary School, Salford – 26th Feb
- Salford City Academy, Salford – 12th Feb
These 19 new schools will join the 24 other Greater Manchester schools who have launched a School Eco Refill Shop since 2024, each reporting unique learning experiences for their pupils.
Wave 2 School Eco Refill Shops – 2025
As Wave 2 schools moved into a new school year, some continued their refill shops with existing teams, while others trained new teams. Across these schools, 2797 containers were saved from waste (as reported at the end of the Autumn Term), averaging 186 containers saved per school.
A recent Behaviour Change Survey reflected wider positive shifts. Parents and carers reported that the school Eco Refill Shop motivated them to:
- purchase plastic free (72%)
- buy less (66%)
- reduce food waste (59%)
Responder comments included:
- ‘Simply by making us all think about waste.’ – Mellor Primary School
- ‘It has reminded me that we can all play a part in helping protect the environment no matter how small that part may be.’ – Walmsley CE Primary School
- ‘Too much plastic out there – makes you think about it/brings awareness.’ – St Augustine’s CofE Primary School
Teacher Reflections
Feedback from Walmsley Primary School highlighted the valuable skills developed through the project:
‘The children are developing numerous skills through the Eco Refill project… They are working both as a wider team and in smaller teams with specific roles… communicating with each other and with customers… delivering assemblies… solving problems with the card reader… finding profit… learning how to be responsible citizens whilst having a lot of fun.’ – Walmsley Bolton
Looking Ahead
In November 2025, the Department for Education Curriculum & Assessment Review highlighted the importance of practical life skills for all students, including financial literacy, media literacy, climate change, and sustainability. Programmes such as School Eco Refill Shops are strongly aligned with these recommendations and are helping schools bring citizenship education to life.
