Swapping Toys in Cambridge

Mountains of toys and clothes that won't go to waste.

On Saturday at Storey’s Field Centre in Eddington I saw a mountain of discarded toys that will not go to waste. Since most of them were at least partly plastic, and not a sort that is easy to recycle, that is especially delightful. We’ve seen clothes swaps – this was a toy swap. The credit goes to Antoinette who runs the scheme (A Toy's Life and Beyond) – and also to the parents who use the service. On Saturday Antoinette told me she counted more than 150 heads (including children as well as parents). This is the third swap she has organised (the first was in December and then February) Out of half a dozen or so parents I spoke to, several had been to two of them, one came to all three. The fact that people are coming back shows that it’s a great service.



In fact this last event was expanded beyond just toys to books and clothes too (including some clothes and books for adults). Antoinette has linked up linked up with a community café also at Storey's Field but organised by the New Life Church from Histon. Antoinette was visiting , they got talking and made more plans – the result on Saturday was an expanded swap. Also Full Circle was there and I chatted with Emma while buying some tooth cleaning tablets (wrapped in recyclable paper, avoiding hard to recycle toothpaste tubes).

I have never been a parent myself, so can’t give an opinion - I asked some of the visitors what they thought; they all said it was great. Most toys are pretty robust and the children (most of them pre-school) grow out of them rapidly so it makes sense to pass them on rather than throw away. Also, it’s a good way to handle duplicates – a lady called Vicki came with an armful of children’s books several of which were ones given as presents to her children but they already had a copy.

I asked if there was any concern about hygiene with re-using ‘pre loved’ toys. Apparently this is not a problem as they are all washable or at least wipable. If you don’t like the look of something, then of course you don’t take it.

As well as swapping toys, the event is a good place to make friends with other parents and make links in the community. A lady called Sarah was chatting with another mum she had met at the last swap. Eddington being so new, people move in and need to make friends with similar interests. Sarah arrived here with her family because of her partner’s job. Having to look after their children at home she had been feeling a bit isolated before she found community events like this. However the parents were not all from Eddington, they came from all over Cambridge.

There is a tendency for people to bring more stuff than they take away. Antoinette keeps a stock for the next time but if there is surplus it is given to toy libraries or overseas charities. On Saturday she mentioned Venezuella and Nigeria but there are other international partners mentioned on her web site.

This project ticks all the Transition Cambridge boxes for me: reduces energy and carbon emissions (from needlessly recreating toys), makes good use of local resources and minimises waste, builds community links and resilience, and is fun for everyone concerned, children as well as parents. A Toy's Life and Beyond is a natural partner for Transition Cambridge and I am so pleased that Antoinette approached us. If there is anything we can do, Antoinette, please just ask. And if you have kids with toys to swap, keep a look out for the next event in the bulletin.