Have something to throw away? Turn it into art.

Whole House Building Supply in East Palo Alto is holding a Scrap2Sculpt Recycling Sculpture Contest to promote the reuse of salvaged materials.

Incentives include cash awards, merchandise and gift certificates as well as an exhibit for the winning sculptures at Palo Alto City Hall for the month of October. Child-safe sculptures will also appear at the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose. Finalists' work will be on view in an outdoor garden exhibit at the company's site.

Oksana Baumert, the contest coordinator, said that "all sorts of interesting things" have been submitted so far. For example, "There's a submission that looks like a human form, but it's lit up from behind."

She added, however, that she has received lots of inquiries but not many pieces. The deadline for entries is Aug. 15.

Whole House Building Supply, according to the company's website, sells building materials donated or salvaged by area residents and businesses. "We also conduct house salvage sales at homes that are slated for demolition," the website reads. In hopes of benefiting both the environment and the community, the company also saves usable materials from the landfills and provides jobs to many in the area.

The free sculpture contest is open to all Bay Area residents ages 18 or older. Limited to one entry per person, submissions must be composed primarily of recycled materials. Sculptures must be at least 2 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet but no larger than 3 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet.

Entries should be submitted by mailing a photo or a JPEG file on CD, clearly labeled with first and last name and phone number. Image dimensions should be no larger than 1028 by 768 pixels. Photos and CDs will not be returned. Participants must also include an entry form, available online at www.driftwoodsalvage.com.

Whole House can be found at 1955 Pulgas Road, East Palo Alto. For more information, call 650-856-0634 or e-mail oksana@driftwoodsalvage.com.