Charlie's war on loom bands

ECO-WARRIOR: Charlie Preston surveys the loom bands he picked up in a single day in the grounds of Greytown School as part of an environmental campaign he started alongside his sister Sadie, 6. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Greytown School eco-warrior Charlie Preston has declared war on loom bands and vows to keep clearing away the discarded weaving toys whenever they cross his path.

Charlie, 8, started his cleaning campaign last term out of a fear that animals could choke on the discarded rubber bands.

His sister, Sadie, 6, has joined the campaign and the pair have also created posters warning about the dangers of the bands when left outside as litter.

The bands, which are weaved on a special loom into bracelets and charms, come in a rainbow of colours and have become an international fad since their invention in 2011.

The children's toy, when discarded, also had become a bane of the environment, Charlie said.

"I've picked up hundreds since I started and I've been doing it on my holidays too. I'll keep picking them up until people start caring more and stop dropping them on the ground," he said.

" I just realised that maybe the animals would start choking on them if they were all over the ground. It's just not right."

He and Sadie have a family cat at home named Binck and the pair will remain committed to their campaign for their pet's sake and other similar small animals.

Although his campaign was not widely known at his school, Charlie said "that's all right, I'm just really doing it for the animals".

Charlie's mother, Janelle Preston Searle, said she and her family were proud Charlie and his little sister had on their own developed such care for animals and their world, and she was "so pleased that at a young age they are aware of environmental issues".

Grandmother Lois Preston called the campaign their "little mission to save the universe" and likewise applauded Charlie and Sadie.