The Zero Waste Movement
Here’s an idea that I loved the moment I heard about it: community libraries that lend hundreds of different items that are typically used only periodically, and therefore need not be owned. I needed a stud-finder recently. The hardware store, obviously, carried a couple of different types, but I hated the idea of buying one, finding one lousy stud, and then putting it on a shelf in the garage. I was lucky enough to have a friend with a huge tool-shop, and so I was able to borrow one, but wouldn’t it have been cool to have simply checked one out of the local library?
Unless you lead an unusual life, you don’t need to own a 50-pound, 4-foot-long monkey wrench, a crepe-maker, a three-story ladder, a fondue pot, or a Rototiller.
Just one more arrow in the zero waste quiver.
Btw, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Happy Thanksgiving Craig,
I’m sure I saw equipment hire companies in the USA that literally hire everything, although I’m not sure about the hiring cost?
I know you can hire a rototiller, ladders of all descriptions, and I would imagine you could buy a fondue set or crepe maker from your local goodwill/charity store for a couple of dollars.
Each year we have a clean out of unused and unwanted items we have accumulated (mostly gifts or fads) and donate them to our local charity shop.
Perhaps your idea might serve as an alternative “library of things” run by volunteers with a small donation for charitable purposes as a fee?