A very useful local resource where toys and materials can be borrowed. Local businesses can also donate scrap and surplus items.

The Mats and Toy Store has a new range of brand new toys, from dolls, dressing up clothes, large ride-on toys, tents, games, puzzles, musical instruments, play tools, play food, plus much more. There are also a number of larger items, which members of toy libraries across Somerset will have access to. These will include items such as travel cots, mattresses, hitchhiker seats, safety gates, and pushchairs. They will all be available from a central location so will need to be booked in advance. The toy library is open to anyone - parents, siblings, grandparents, carers, childminders, community groups etc. Joining is easy - just come along and for £5 per family for a year you can have access to all of the above toys for just 5Op per item each time you borrow. Please feel free to come and browse!

Opening Times - Summer Term 2007

• Tuesday 2:45pm to 4pm
• Thursday 11am to 12 noon

Location

Plain Pond, Wiveliscombe

Mats and local businesses

Mats is a registered charity. We collect scrap from over- and imperfect production by local manufacturers and businesses who donate products that they consider to be rubbish, most of which would otherwise end up in landfill sites. We then act as a resource centre from where interested groups turn up when we are open with their membership card and choose what they need. The scrapstore members are community-based, non-profit making organisations who join for an annual fee which is in proportion to the number of people in their group; Primary and Secondary schools, playgroups, youth groups,Sunday schools, Brownies and Scouts, out-of-school clubs and special needs groups. Our members use the scrap for art, drama, design, and technology projects, instructive and creative recycling.

Why should my firm be interested?

The simplest answer is Agenda 21. Every year businesses throw away tons of unwanted waste. This all ends up in landfill sites for which you are charged per tonne, so you pay to throw away stuff that may actually be re-usable. Not all of what you throw out is rubbish, it could be out of date stationery, packaging or new equipment or components, goods that are no longer used due to an office update, non-saleable botch-ends, remnants, manufacturers samples- the list is endless. For our groups and us these are potentially valuable resources.

What's in it for Mats?

We are all unpaid volunteers who prefer to see quality waste goods recycled by creative community groups. This sounds a bit sanctimonious its true, but we are all interested parties as we are also parents with children in those community groups. Our members do pay a small fee but that is used to fund collections, overheads and as we are also a toy library, it subsidises new toys. We collect, re-distribute and so think what you can save for the price of a phone call - your tax budget and the environment.

How does my business contact you?

All it requires is a telephone call to us on 01984 623656 to arrange a mutually convenient time when we can come and collect from you. We then take it back to our building and when we are next open our members come and help themselves. Thank you for reading this and we hope that we can be some help in reducing your rubbish bills.