Library of Things aiming to make town sustainable

More than 200 people have signed up to a community borrowing scheme during its first year, the organisation has said.

The Buxton Library of Things first opened on 30 January 2024 at Buxton Library with the aim of making the town more sustainable.

The initiative, founded by environmental group Transition Buxton, offers items such as tools, DIY supplies and electronic goods for a set time at a low cost.

Jane Reynolds, director of Transition Buxton, said: "We want people to reduce buying things they may only use a few times and to borrow more."

The service, which offers more than 100 items, aims to reduce individual purchases of rarely-used goods and the amount of items going to landfill, while encouraging sharing in the community.

Ms Reynolds said she wanted to bring a library of things to Buxton because she noticed other schemes were successful elsewhere.

"We wanted to reduce waste in our community, so we set up a repair café in Buxton and we wanted a library of things that reduces people buying things they may only use a few times, reduces clutter in homes and saves people money as well," she added.

Ms Reynolds said the library's most used items are power washers, carpet cleaners, hedge trimmers and gazebos in the summer.

People pay for a membership for the service and then do a "pay as you feel" fee for every item borrowed.

Some members travel more than 30 miles from Derby to borrow things from the library.

Ms Reynolds said: "We are really pleased reaching one year and we hope people will borrow more and more.

"We hope Library of Things will open in other towns too because it's a shame there isn't a library of things closer to members like that in Derby."

The Library of Things was set up following a small start-up grant from the National Lottery, but is now self-funded, Transition Buxton said.

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