Our Members support reuse of resources for community benefit through the diversion of clean reusable scrap waste materials from businesses. ReusefulUK is a registered charity incepted by scrapstores, resource and creative reuse centres to gather and share information about issues, barriers, opportunities, good practice, achievements, promotions and publications.
Donate scrap materials to our Scrapstores.
Donate your time, your money or even whilst you shop!
Browse all of our Scrapstores.
Use our map to search for your nearest Scrapstore.
Wondering what to do this summer? Reuseful UK is here to help! We have here 20 activities to keep you busy and having fun this summer!
Remember to visit our directory for your nearest scrapstore to stock up on all the resources you need to get creative this SUMMER!
Our guest blogger is Yanina Koszalinski who is the scrapstore co-ordinator for Sheffield Out of School Network
In February, we opened our new Scrapstore at Edmund Road Business Centre. The scrapstore collects suitable waste materials donated by local businesses and manufacturers which then makes it available to individuals, groups and organisations that work with children and young people, diverting waste that would have gone to landfill or incineration to be reused for children’s play and creative activities
On Wednesday 4th June 2014 we joined scrapstores around the country to “open our doors” as part of Greek Week to raise awareness of who and what scrapstores are all about. Throughout the day over 90 visitors from community groups, schools and businesses that have donated materials, came along to meet our staff and volunteers and see the wide variety of materials we have in the scrapstore and how they are used for children’s play and creative activities. There was also an opportunity to take a look behind the scenes in our warehouse, where we store larger items and resources used in Scrapstore PlayPods™ based inschools across South Yorkshire and further afield.
Our Guest Blogger Jenni Wraysbury is a former Travel Writer, who now freelances and has a huge interest in environmental issues.
Organise Your Own Creative Reusing Event!
As well as running scrapstores, members of Reuseful UK (formerly known as ScrapstoresUK) also get involved in organising all kinds of community events. The aim is to get more people of all ages discovering the fun of being creative – and turning 'rubbish' into something worth keeping. One recent event was Oxford's first 'swap'n'fix' event, where scrapstore charity Orinoco had a stall and showed how to turn an old video cassette into a new yo-yo!
If you have a passion for arts and crafts, it is a lot of fun to arrange an artistic happening and enthuse others. It could be something as small-scale as a coffee morning at your home for a few friends to try out new craft ideas. Alternatively, you may want to stage a full-scale fair or fete with artists and teachers demonstrating a whole range of artistic activities, from spinning recycled yarn to building giant junk models and collages.
There are many different possibilities to choose from, and you might want to tie your event in with Voluntary Arts Week, which will be held from May 9 to 18 in 2014. This year's VAW will include a national Craftbomb drive, with the idea being to decorate open areas of your local town or village with colourful temporary creations to inspire and excite the community. Of course, it is essential to get permission from the relevant authorities before going ahead with this.