Going Green With Toy Libraries.pdf Going Green With Toy Libraries

On consumerism, according to a 2007 Telegraph article it’s known that an
incredible 44 million bought toys are discarded each year from UK homes, and that
a child on average by the time they reach the age of 16, will have had over £11,000
worth of toys!
The cost to the environment is high – for instance PVC toys through their
manufacture release poisonous dioxins into the air - which have been linked to
cancer. Furthermore plastic is, as we know particularly difficult to biodegrade and
can literally take hundreds of years to disintegrate when placed in landfill sites.
With these sorts of statistics it’s easy to see how using toy library services can
benefit us all, and what’s more having a constant supply of different toys is a great
way to keep your child stimulated, happy and constantly learning.
The Telegraph article asked ‘what can you do? To
help your environment…seek out your local toy
library or organise a toy swap with friends’
Toy swapping is something the Birmingham
Outreach team are keen to get involved in and hope
that by organising some events and workshops in
the near future this will provide opportunities for
all to come and visit the Toy Library at Harris
House and see what toy libraries can offer.
Anyone expressing an interest on the above event, setting up their own toy library
or having a mobile service visit their play services please contact our Senior
Outreach Worker Jo Hill on: jo.c.hill@hotmail.co.uk or take a look at the
Associations website at: www.natll.org.uk for more information on what we can
offer.
Written by Sara Reynolds (Birmingham Outreach Worker for HOB)
Contact number 0792 7184 179