A half-dozen neon signs hang on one wall, shouting in pink and red, in both script and block type, the words "Shear," "Plant on Premises" and "Checks Tags." Broken bits of neon are scattered on the shelf below. In the corner is a wooden bookcase, stocked with titles such as The Psychology of Achievement and Introduction to Logic, and an LP, The Good Ship Lollipop with Pebbles and Bamm Bamm. There’s a white plastic mod-styled "hair computer," shopping carts, legless barstools and tabletops, drawers full of switchplates and doorknobs, rolled up window screens, boxes full of trophies and remote controls. There’s even a half-full case of Diet Coke.

It’s the Please Take Materials Exchange, a nonprofit that collects and dispenses trash for reuse by artists, and it’s quickly outgrowing its 3,000-square-foot space. But not only is it outgrowing its 12th and Callowhill location, the landlords have made it known that they’d like to rent out the space for much more than Please Take M.e.’s $500-a-month rent, starting in the fall.

Please Take M.e. is looking to acquire a 100,000 to 150,000-square-foot space, says sculptor cdavid hall-cottrill, "resource czar" for the Creative Artists Resource Project (CARP), which co-founded Please Take M.e. with the Dumpster Divers last year. It would also house the Philadelphia Reuse Collaborative, which rebuilds used computers; a gallery; a regional reuse/recycling center; and an art workshop and think tank. An ideal location would be in a "neighborhood," says hall-cottrill, with parking, access to public transportation and perhaps a storefront.

But the nonprofit cannot afford such a large space, and is looking to acquire property through a tax-deductible donation or grants, or to pay lower rent.

Please Take M.e. has been paying rent and other costs with dues collected from its 80 members ($40 for six months). Startup funds came from an Independence Foundation Grant.

It’s a creative idea: Take other people’s junk, catalog it, categorize it, store it in a big warehouse and, in exchange for a small membership fee, allow artist-types to give and take junk at will.

It’s been catching on, too. Materials exchanges are popping up all over the country.

New York City’s Materials for the Arts, which inspired Please Take M.e., is probably the most impressive display of cooperation between city departments. It was created over 20 years ago when an artist working on a city project in Central Park learned that the park zoo’s hospital needed a refrigerator to keep medicines for the animals. She asked a radio station to air a plea for a refrigerator. Within a few hours, the zoo was flooded with calls, and the materials exchange was born.

Today, it is run by three city offices — the board of education, and the departments of cultural affairs and sanitation — and has received about $27 million worth of donations from more than 4,000 donors. More than 3,000 New York City nonprofits have benefited from the program.

To its credit, the Please Take M.e. has diverted 7 tons of trash from the waste stream since last June — that’s 7 tons of debris the City of Philadelphia didn’t have to haul away, or pay to dispose of in a landfill or incinerator.

Hall-cottrill is excited about the growth opportunities. With a new space, the exchange will be able to increase its membership and begin fulfilling its expanded mission, which includes creating a regional reuse/recycling center and establishing "ZAW-mill" — a "zero-waste" art workshop and think tank.

But hall-cottrill doesn’t envision Philadelphia spearheading a program such as New York’s in the near future. City leaders are not willing to make a commitment to programs like a materials exchange, he says.

Joan Batory, deputy streets commissioner for recycling, likes the concept of a materials exchange. "It’s an idea that bears exploration," she says, "but it’s hard to say at this point."

According to Batory, the Recycling Department has agreed to advise Please Take M.e. on recycling expansion.

Hall-cottrill says his organization isn’t looking to emulate New York’s program. He insists that, with support from the city, Please Take M.e. is perfectly capable.

Please Take will be open to the public Sat., Aug. 28, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 340 N. 12th St. (12th and Callowhill). For information, call the Creative Artists Resource Project at 215-739-2583.