The Leeds lending library loaning out power tools, camping equipment and a pizza oven to help tackle cost of living and climate crises

Jed Aitchison is one of those behind the undertaking. It is designed to make things more accessible to people, whilst making an environmental impact by encouraging the sharing of resources and reducing waste creation.

“The Library of Things is for the kind of stuff you don’t use very often and would otherwise have to buy,” Jed says.

“Classic example is a power drill…A lot of people borrow from friends or neighbours but not everyone has that option. And that’s where we come in.

“There are so many things that are prohibitively expensive to buy or that people want to experiment with before they buy or that people just don’t have access to but want for a bit. We make those things possible by making things affordable and accessible.”

Buy Nowt LS6 has a growing catalogue of items available to borrow, instead of people having to buy new. That list now totals around 1,000 products, with categories including DIY, arts and crafts, cooking, toys and games and events and parties.

About 80 per cent of the library’s offerings come from donations, people handing over little-used items that are taking up space in their lofts and sheds.

A further portion of its stock is lent to the enterprise for others to use for a period of time before being returned to the owner.

“We have so many things in the UK that are underutilised,” Jed says. “Most people have accumulated a lot of things over decades but much of it doesn’t get used very often.”

A grant from Leeds’ Hey Neighbour scheme was used to purchase a series of products when the library first opened and any profit from the enterprise is invested back in securing more items for people to borrow.

As for where that money comes from, Jed says that for each item borrowed for a week, the library recommends a donation of 10 per cent of what it would cost to buy. But ultimately, it is a pay-as-you-feel (PAYF) service.

To borrow, people in the area make a PAYF membership account, browse the catalogue to choose and reserve an item, collect it with a PAYF donation and then return it after the agreed borrowing time.

“There’s two routes of benefit for the library and they can both be summed up with the phrase the library makes the best use of resources,” Jed says.

“When people borrow from us, they are saving money and carbon at the same time because they are not having to buy something, which is amazing.

“Not only are we allowing people to do things more affordably, more economically, but also less carbon intensively. It’s a win-win…We allow people to do fantastic things that they wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.

"Camping trips that have come into the price range of people who couldn’t go before. Renovating a home becomes easier to do, tidying up your garden becomes much easier…These things become doable.

“We hope that we are another tool in people’s toolbox of dealing with the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis at the same time…We can help solve these problems.”

Jed, who works as a science supply teacher at secondary schools across Leeds, talks of a positive first year – one that has seen the library gain around 3,000 members, as well as generous donators and a team of volunteers to help run it.

The future is about ‘more’, he says – more members, more items, and more loans. He also has big ideas for a retro games section, from which pubs and restaurants can draw in order to put on events for customers.

"People can also borrow our sleeping bags to supplement their bedding over winter,” Jed adds.

“We do good things and I like that. We do good things for the planet and for the community of Leeds.”

To find out more, visit buynowtls6.com