Running in Bristol the scheme aims to encourage gardeners to search through their garden sheds for old garden hand tools, which will then refurbished and donated to local community groups and schools.

B&Q says the scheme is aimed at encouraging people to recycle, mend and upcycle, in order to prolong the life of products, help to reduce landfill and conserve materials.

The company has partnered with the charity, the Conservation Foundation, to help run the programme.

The charity works across the country helping to refurbish old or broken gardening hand tools with the help of prisoners, and it claims that this way, inmates can learn valuable new skills while community groups receive free tools to help improve the local community.

If the Bristol scheme is successful the initiative will be considered for a nationwide rollout, helping the Conservation Foundation to establish workshops in more prisons and providing a source of gardening tools for charities, schools and community associations countrywide.

The Conservation Foundation’s David Shreeve said: “The tool trade-in is very popular because it is such a positive and fun recycling initiative. There are lots of old tools in garden sheds which are never used, but with a bit of TLC in a prison workshop they can be given a brand new and useful new life in schools and community gardens where they are desperately needed.”

The retailer will accept the tools over the weekend June 15 and 16, across six stores in the local area, and in return customers will receive a saving on replacement tools.

Conor McGlone

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