Trash to Treasure at Festival Place

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Trash will turn to treasure and plastic will become fantastic as Festival Place, Basingstoke, launches a major summer recycling initiative to encourage shoppers to have fun while playing their part in helping the environment.

The shopping centre is inviting visitors to donate plastic bottles and packages which will be remodelled by an on-site artist into weird and wonderful robot sculptures during the summer holidays. Schools, community groups, businesses and individuals which would like to donate materials and have a sculpture displayed are asked to contact Marketing@festivalplace.co.uk.

As part of the scheme, a series of eye-catching plastic "Recyclabots" – Maggie Zine, Alan Minium, Bev Ridge, Cap'n Lidov, Carrie O'Bag, and Diana Thirst – will go on display around the centre to encourage shoppers to drop off their materials. There will also be a prominent plastics recycling drop-off point in Porchester Square from July 30 to start the campaign, which will run until August 19.

The scheme will include an action-packed activities programme for families, including a "Robotrial" treasure hunt and a series of free craft activities from August 13 to 19 so children can create their own unique robots from the collected recycled materials.

Schools and community groups are also being invited to build their own recycling robot. The sculptures, built out of anything from cardboard to plastic bottles, will go on display in the shopping centre.