Stories
Meet the store volunteers who keep Scrapstore going
Fifty volunteers, over 1,100 hours a year, and more than 60 tonnes of waste kept from landfill and incineration.
Gill · 5 October 2026
Work and Play Scrapstore, London, since 1988
An award-winning London scrapstore in Tooting, since 1988
Coming soon: Christmas at the Scrapstore
Rescued materials, affordable creativity, for everyone
From Thursday 12 November our shelves turn into a winter wonderland of rescued materials for making, wrapping and giving.
From Thursday 12 November our shelves turn into a winter wonderland of rescued materials for making, wrapping and giving.
Christmas at the Scrapstore
Making, wrapping and giving, with rescued materials.
Our impact
Our impact, in numbers
1988
Rescuing materials since
60+
tonnes of materials rescued from landfill every year
50+
volunteers giving their time
6,600+
volunteer hours every year
Our figures are approximate and reviewed each year.
Who it's for
Come and visit, everyone's welcome
Members
Families, students, artists and makers
Most of what you see is free to members, with a small charge for a few items, and the joy of finding the unexpected.
Groups
Schools, nurseries and community groups
One group membership covers your whole team, priced by how many people will use the materials.
Volunteers
Volunteers
Run by people who love it. You don't need experience or a membership to join them.
How it works
It's circularWaste in, creativity out
We collect surplus and offcuts from businesses across London that would otherwise go to landfill. Our volunteers sort, pack and fill the shelves. Our members, from nurseries to theatre companies, take what's placed on the shelves by volunteers: most of what you see is free to members, with a small charge for a few items. Sustainability and creativity, one loop, running in Tooting for more than 35 years.
How it worksWhat members say
For over a decade, the Work Play Scrapstore has been the most valuable resource for our home-educating family with two neurodiverse children. It has nurtured their passion for design, embedded sustainability values such as re-use, recycling, and circular economy thinking from a young age, supported their mental health, and shaped their futures, helping my son secure a place to study 3D Design at Kingston College. Without this resource, these opportunities simply would not have been possible.
Ellora Coupe, home-educating parent and member
Volunteering
Run by people who love it
Around 50 volunteers give roughly 6,600 hours a year to sort every crate, fill the shelves and greet everyone at the door. You don't need experience or a membership to join them.
I love it because I can be creative, and I have all the tools to make beautiful things.John, volunteer
Support us
Three ways to help
Businesses with surplus
Your leftover materials, rescued and put to good use. Donations are by arrangement through reception; for larger loads we can arrange a courier.
Sponsor us
By partnering with the Scrapstore your company helps us directly to build on the around 60 tonnes of materials we divert from landfill each year.
Green Mark accredited, and shortlisted for Environmental and Sustainability Champion at the Wandsworth Business Awards 2025.
In the news
Featured on ITV News London
ITV News visited the store to see how rescued materials become works of art.
Broadcast 18 August 2026
Watch on ITVX (opens in a new tab)Read our blog
Stories and ideas from the store
Stories
Joining the Scrapstore might be the most fun you have all year
People, treasures, inspiration and a small annual fee. Here's what membership is really like.
Wayne · 5 September 2026
Why it matters
What 60 tonnes of rescued materials looks like
Sixty tonnes a year is hard to picture. Here it is in double-decker buses, classrooms and Christmas mornings.
Wayne · 4 September 2026
Follow the store
Visit us
Find us in Tooting, SW London
Address
Hazelhurst Estate 13 Blackshaw Road London SW17 0DA
Opening times
Open Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11am to 5pm, and the first and third Saturday of the month, 11am to 4pm.
Visiting
Members shop, and anyone can visit once before joining.
Where we're heading
Directions, not deadlines
We are making it easier to join and to renew, online.
We are bringing workshops and teaching back, with places funded so cost excludes nobody.
We are working with more businesses to rescue more material.
We are growing and better supporting our volunteer community.
We are measuring our impact properly, and publishing it.
We are exploring how scrapstores across the country can work together.
We are planning to open new sites across London.
Ready to make something?
Membership takes a few minutes online, and most of what you find is free to members.
Who we work with
Partners and collaborators
A Green Mark accredited, Wandsworth Business Awards 2025 shortlisted charity, working alongside these organisations.
Registered charity 1041641 (opens in a new tab)Charity Commission registered (opens in a new tab)
Payments by Stripe
Green Mark accredited
Shortlisted, Wandsworth Business Awards 2025
@workandplayscrapstore
What's new on the shelves this week