Across London, thousands of households each own their own things, sitting idle in cupboards every day of the year but one, only to get thrown out or passed on.
The Library of Things offers a different model – one item, shared by many neighbours, in good nick, at a cheap rent. Such as:
- Power drill
- Hedge trimmer
- Carpet cleaner
- Sewing machine
- Sound system
- Tent
- Backpack
- Wallpaper stripper
- Party kit
Members reserve an item online, collect it from a local self-service locker, use it, then return it clean for the next person. The same drill or tent gets used by dozens of people across the year instead of standing unused in dozens of separate homes.
This way, at the cost of having to pick it up and bring it back, we can radically reduce the carbon footprint and the resources used in manufacture and transport. Fewer items need to be produced in the first place to meet the same amount of actual use.
Before your next one-off purchase, check whether your nearest Library of Things already has one waiting to be borrowed.
More…
London website: https://www.libraryofthings.co.uk/
