Schoolchildren have asked families across the borough to donate old books to help raise money for schools in east Africa.

Pupils from Greig City Academy in Hornsey and Rokesley Primary School in Crouch End helped launch a new book recycling scheme to support schools in Tanzania yesterday.

The scheme is being run by Haringey Borough Council’s waste management company Veolia Environmental Trust in partnership with the educational charity READ International to provide dedicated book recycling points throughout the borough.

Books from the banks will be sold or recycled to raise cash to buy locally relevant and up-to-date books in Tanzania.

The aim is to extract as much value as possible from every book collected so no book is ever sent to landfill.

The scheme has already been piloted by Veolia in the City of Westminster, where over 12,500 books were collected within the first six months alone, and in Lambeth, Kingston-upon-Thames and Tower Hamlets.

Veolia and READ International are working together to identify further opportunities to introduce the scheme to local authorities across the capital and beyond.