Scrapheap scavengers

PLASTIC tubes, bottle tops, bits of polystyrene and odd pieces of foam. To a lot of people it's just scrap.

More often than not it will end up on the top of a landfill site.

But with a bit of imagination, and the help of a Southampton-based charity, it can be turned into anything from a fairy tale castle to a race car.

For more than 20 years the Southampton Scrapstore has been supplying individuals and groups with unwanted industrial and office scrap materials.

Volunteers at the charity are self-confessed scavengers, regularly on the prowl for offcuts no longer needed by factories and offices.

They are avid collectors of paper - in every colour of the rainbow - wood, fabric and card, and a whole wealth of other materials, which they pass on to members who then work their magic.

The Scrapstore has everything from bits of novelty wallpaper to unused supermarket packaging and labels for double cream and tropical fruit juice.

Just a quick glance around the store in the Eastpoint Centre, Thornhill, will uncover buttons, CD cases, mouse-mats, string and even odd

sections of dado rail - all materials bequeathed by a range of sources.

Marketing manager Jennie Rawles said: "A lot of the things we have at the Scrapstore are the sorts of things you wouldn't find in the high street shops.

"We go scavenging and collect scrap that would otherwise end up as landfill. They are brilliant materials for all kinds of uses."

Some of the charity's regular suppliers include John Lewis, Snows and B&Q, which has its headquarters in Chandler's Ford.

Others contribute as and when they can.

Co-ordinator John Marsh said: "Our suppliers range from big companies to corner shops, where we get sweet jars from, for example.

"Once we were even given materials from a bridal shop which closed down, which some of our members used to make swan costumes for a

festival."

Southampton Scrapstore is just one of more than 100 Scrapstores in the UK, all recycling scrap.

"We are able to swap a lot of materials between the different stores, which is great because it means a greater variety in each and also enables you to take more from each individual supplier," said Mr Marsh.

"Everybody gains - the suppliers, the stores, the members and the

environment."

The charity makes regular collections of materials in a van provided by the National Lottery Charities.

All the 'scrap' collected is kept in one of two places - at the store in the Eastpoint Centre in Burgoyne Road, or in the charity's new facility in Southampton Common's cemetery.

In a project begun at the end of 2002, a disused Grade II listed chapel in the historic cemetery was 'recycled' into a new storage unit, thanks to a cash injection of £116,500 from the Onyx Environmental Trust.

The Scrapstore now has the building on a 20-year lease from the city council for a 'peppercorn' rent.

Miss Rawles said: "Having the extra storage space is wonderful.

"It means we can take on extra materials, which in turn means we can encourage more member groups to join."

The Scrapstore held an open day at the end of March, inviting local people to see what the

charity does and to learn about membership opportunities.

There are currently more than 350 member groups, including schools, community clubs and individual families, who all pay an annual fee to take materials away for use in arts and crafts.

Women's refuges, local hospices and day centres are also members of the Scrapstore.

Geoff Charnley, chairman of the charity's volunteer management committee, said: "There is an amazing amount of rehabilitation work we can do with scrap materials.

"One of the real benefits of the Scrapstore, apart from the materials we are able to recycle, is some of the volunteers we have helping us."

One volunteer, Charlene Allen, works at the Scrapstore through a Thornhill-based programme which helps prepare young people for the workplace.

"Working here has helped Charlene build her confidence up no end, which is really nice to see," said Mr Charnley.

Run primarily by 32 volunteers, the Scrapstore comes up against the same funding issues faced by many other charities.

"A big concern for us, as with a lot of volunteer groups, is one of survival," said Mr Charnley.

"We have depended for a long time on grants and assistance from the likes of the council, but that pot is getting much smaller.

"We were turned down for a Community Fund grant because we don't serve just one specific group, we serve a lot of sections of the community.

"We are helping a wide variety of groups with the types of materials we provide."

The charity holds regular workshops to demonstrate the variety of things that can be made from its scrap materials, and actively encourages members to bring their finished products into the store to show off.

"We hang art work all round the place," said Miss Rawles.

Some of the masterpieces created with scrap include a wacky races car made for Goodwood Festival, horse costumes for the Southampton Balloon Festival and a swan outfit for the Larmer Tree Festival in Salisbury, all last year.

Mr Charnley describes the Scrapstore as an Aladdin's cave.

"There is such a vast variety of materials that we are able to recycle," he said. "These days everyone is encouraged to do more in the way of recycling.

"Well, we can encourage it too, in a fun way, with the use of scrap materials.

"How many people, for example, pay £1 or £2 for a greetings card, when they can make their own?

"With a bit of ingenuity and lateral thinking, you can save a lot of money while having great fun at the same time."