Interested residents are being encouraged to join a new library so they can be among the first to hire a range of household items, thereby saving money on purchases and reducing environmental impact.
The Library of Things is set to open in the Glades next month, where shoppers will be able to borrow a range of household items, often associated with a ‘one off’ job, meaning costly purchases and the associated environmental impact could be avoided. Residents, especially those in flats, will no longer have to make the trade-off between space and keeping useful belongings for leisure activities, or tools needed for occasional home improvements. Borrowing is the perfect solution to this conundrum.
The initial set-up costs have been funded from the council’s Carbon Offset Fund, with the Library of Things hiring kiosk being hosted by Greener and Cleaner Bromley. The items for lease range from DIY equipment (such as drills, pressure washers and hedge trimmers) to hobbying activities (sewing machines, metal detectors, camping equipment) and much more, all of which can be borrowed for a small daily cost.
Councillor William Huntington-Thresher, Executive Councillor for Environment said, “We are very pleased to provide the initial funding for The Library of Things in Bromley and are excited about the impact it could make. For those of us who realistically only use a drill and other household items on rare occasions; it will avoid the expensive need to purchase the item and crucially lessen the environmental impact of unnecessarily manufacturing and transporting them too. Many of the household items which will be available to hire would previously need to be purchased, with the item then taking up much needed space in our homes, deteriorating unused and eventually being thrown away. This wasteful approach to resource use has a detrimental environmental impact and is an approach we are keen to assist residents in moving away from.”
Councillor Will Harmer, Councillor for Bromley Town said, “I want to thank Greener and Cleaner Bromley for hosting the Library of Things at their soon to be opened Hub. This is a major incentive for all of us not to simply purchase an ever-expanding inventory of possessions and instead borrow them only when we need them. The Library of Things will help us all consider a more sustainable and resource efficient way of doing things.”
Residents will be able to reserve items online ready for collection from a self-service kiosk in the Hub, at The Glades shopping centre in Bromley, a short walk away from Bromley South Station. Visit Bromley Library of Things website to sign up to start borrowing.
The Library of Things founders, Emma Shaw, Rebecca Trevalyan and Sophia Wyatt were inspired by similar projects in cities such as Berlin and Toronto, with the first self-service kiosk coming forwards in 2018. Library of Things is now open in five locations across London. Over 5,000 people have now borrowed items over 10,000 times, preventing an estimated approximately 40 tonnes of items from becoming waste, saving an estimated 88 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Emma Shaw said, “We’ve already had interest in Library of Things from Bromley residents and organisations and what is important to us is to make sure we stock the right range of products so that there are the enough of the right items to borrow and so that we don’t inadvertently also purchase items which won’t be used.”
To support businesses in the local area, Library of Things will be liaising with them to refer residents to their products and services, where the Library of Things is oversubscribed. Further details about the Library of Things and the Bromley launch is available by visiting https://www.libraryofthings.co.uk/bromley.
ENDS
For media enquiries, please contact Andrew Rogers, Head of Public Affairs, on 020 8461 7670 or email andrew.rogers@bromley.gov.uk