Coventry milk bottle appeal for Oslo Marathon medals

Marc Stewart and Stuart Giddings have worked with schools to collect plastic bottles for the cause

A company is appealing for donations of empty milk cartons so they can be turned into medals.

The Team Recycle project, run by the Coventry Trophy Centre, is making medals for the Oslo Marathon in Norway from recycled plastic milk bottles.

Most of the containers were collected from students across the city but the firm says the summer holidays mean supplies are now dwindling.

They must complete the project by 31 August.

The bottles will be converted into medals to be used at the Oslo marathon

The firm has been running the project in schools across Coventry and Warwickshire and was contacted by the organisers of the marathon to provide an eco-friendly option on a mass scale.

• Hear on BBC Sounds how the team want to get the medals ready for September

A plastic bottle that can hold four pints of milk can create one whole medal and so far they have collected more than 25,000 bottles.

However to meet their target, the firm said they still need about 30,000 pints worth of plastic in time for the marathon on 16 September.

Each medal is made from four pints worth of plastic

"The response from the children, taking responsibility and taking ownership of their recycling has been fantastic," said Stuart Giddings, one of Team Recycle's co-directors.

Mr Giddings, a former Coventry City player, added: "Their recycling could end up in Norway on the finish line.

"If you had asked me this six months ago, I wouldn't have believed it, it has been a crazy journey."

Organisers of the Oslo Marathon contacted the team in search of eco-friendly medal options