Scrap Stores

To answer Living to work - Working to Live's question (sorry don't know your name).  If you live in the UK there are lots of Scrap Stores dotted around the country. They are charity based and some stores only open to teachers or people who work solely with children, others (like ours in Wiltshire) now they have moved more to 'community' use.    Some stores have an annual membership charge, some don't.

They have all sorts of stuff - I guess depending on where the store is will influence the type of stuff they have - things like bottles, bottle tops, scrap plastic, paper, card mount board (these cut out shapes are so useful) fabric etc - anything local businesses would normally throw away as faulty, excess or prototype, or stock from businesses that have closed down and would be sent to landfill - if children/schools can use it - it goes to scrap store.
Our store has sort of three sections -
a) the 'scrap' section where you can help yourself to the above kind of stuff - filling a bag and giving a donation as suggested by the staff
b) a section where they keep 'good scrap' and sell pieces individually for a reasonable price - in this section yesterday they had children's plastic shoes, party products and some lovely small wedding ornaments - which I guess are stock from a closed business but not considered 'scrap'
c) a section where they sell 'proper/new' art materials - like acrylic paint, crayons etc at very reduced prices.

One rule is that you cannot get items from the store and sell them on directly. So for example I could not collect lots of yoghurt pots - with faulty printing - fill them and sell them on.  I can get the yoghurt pots and use them for mixing dye at home etc.

I joined our store when my children were little so was included in the 'working with children/family' membership - now I am in the 'artist - teaching adult workshops' category.  The type of stuff I buy from the store is used in samples, for workshops or the art work I make.  If after I have used/worked with it and someone buys a piece from me then I feel justified to sell. I do give more to the scrapstore than the donation requested.

So if you live in UK - the national directory is HERE

Wiltshire contact page is HERE