Public Tools Library — for circularity and beyond…
By: Rishabh Mittal
Tags: Local Government, Sustainability, Cities, Circulareconomy, Community Engagement

We think the problems today are not as much as with our consumption patterns but more so with the methods of production. To do things in a better way, we need to empower everyday people with the necessary infrastructure to make circularity happen. A public tools library is just one of the ways to bring about this change in our lives. To bring change, we need to democratise the power of production.

Background

The concept of circular economy can be realised if we can make reusability easy and economical. To make a product reusable, it should be easy to repair, and if it needs to be, easy to resale to its future users. Thus, the three Rs for the circular economy can be re-defined as Repair, Reuse, Resale.

The three R’s for circular

To understand this better, let us take the example of cars as they are arguably the most universally circular consumer goods in our current times. The reason for our cars being circular is because they are easy to repair, reuse, and resale. This ease of repair, reuse and resale is largely made possible by the ecosystem of repair shops and resellers which provides with necessary support and convenience to make circularity happen.

The high cost of owning cars has allowed this ecosystem to be created by the market itself and such high costs of purchase are not true for every product out there. Thus, to encourage such an ecosystem for other products as well, governments need to step in and provide the necessary infrastructure which enables common people to participate in the circular economy with ease.

Currently, there are platforms both digital and physical to resale or share used products (for eg, local thrift stores, Facebook’s Marketplace, etc). The success and popularity of such resale platforms all around the world (especially in cities), demonstrates that people are willing to share, reuse and resale goods if there is an easy and convenient way of doing it. The current challenge is to somehow facilitate repairs that would automatically increase reuse and reduce waste.

Motivation

People usually have the spirit and motivation to do things by themselves commonly referred to as a do-it-yourself (DIY) attitude. With the success of companies like iFixit (link) and the popularity of DIY YouTube channels like DIY Perks (link), I like to make stuff (link), Hacktuber (link) and many more with millions of subscribers and tens of millions of views. This suggests that there is interest and enthusiasm from people to be a part of circularity.

So, what’s the problem?

Problem

The missing link in completing our three R’s in this is the ease of repairing things. If we could facilitate the ease of repair, the remain two Rs of reuse and resale will increase naturally. The ease of repairing is linked to two things:

Infrastructure needed (tools + space)

Skills required

Most of the stuff we use in our daily life is pretty basic and are not very sophisticated in their working process. Thus, the skills needed to repair such things are also pretty basic and can be learned even through online learning mediums (like YouTube). One of the main things holding people back is the high cost of owning the tools.

For instance, in the current system, if I need to cut a piece of wood into two, I will have to buy a saw which I know will be used only a couple of times and then will occupy space in my already overstuffed apartment and will need regular maintenance while adding not much value to my city life. So, when I buy a tool, the cost of ownership consists of three costs: cost of buying, cost of storage and then the cost of maintenance. Such a high cost of owning tools discourages repairs and reuse of stuff. So, what’s the solution?

Innovation should not be reserved for the few but should be done by the masses.

Our Solution

To solve this problem and encourage circularity, we propose the idea of a local community ‘Public Tools Library’.

Public Tools Library

The main idea is simple, to create a space where people can come together and share tools. Now, around this idea, more features can be added to further encourage the use of the space and the tools like having workspaces, workshops, supervisors, junkyards and so on.

Some of these possible features are expanded as follows:

Take home tools: Tools can be issued to be taken home which will allow people to do things themselves. (Eg: regular maintenance, paint jobs, garden works, etc.)

Workspaces: Spaces within the library for people to work and/or collaborate on project ideas.

Upcycle: Junkyards can be provided adjacent to the tool’s library for people to source materials for their respective projects and enable upcycling.

Skills training: Workshops should be held to allow enthusiasts to learn from professionals. This will help people have the necessary supervision to gain confidence in doing things themselves.

Supervisors: Someone who can provide general guidance, training, and supervision to people for using basic tools. (Just like a librarian but for tools!)

Themes: Just like any books library arranges books based on genres, a tools library can be arranged and categorised based on how its tools are used. For example, woodworks, metal works, fabric works, electrical works, robotics and so on are only to name a few.

Kids section: A dedicated section for children of our community to try on different tools to build things from a young age.

Sharing will reduce the cost of owning the tools and thereby will encourage people to repair reuse and if need be, resale. By providing the necessary infrastructure in local communities and neighbourhoods, the governments can reduce the barrier of entry for people to participate in the circular economy and make circularity happen. Socially, this initiative will enable people to come together and collaborate, share tools, skills and ideas which will strengthen communities and stimulate local economies. This will also empower the individuals and the society at large to explore new product ideas and new economic models.

A few of such direct benefits of a Tool’s library are as follows:

Sharing is caring: Historically, libraries have reduced the barrier for everyday people to gain knowledge by reducing the cost of reading books by sharing them. The tools library can do the same. Tools can live at a shared accessible hub for people to use whenever needed and thus freeing us from the burden of ownership.

Workshops & Retraining: As automation is displacing a lot of people from regular work, such an initiative can provide the infrastructure needed for people to learn a new skill and find a new means of living. Workshops could be organised to bring both professionals and enthusiasts together to share their skills and ideas. This will help nurture and enrich the repair ecosystem.

Bring community together: Libraries are places where people come together and build connections. People from all walks of life from immigrants to senior citizens, students, job seekers, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts find a place to interact and socialise. It is a place for the community to come together to teach, learn and share ideas.

Spur innovation around circularity: It can be a perfect breeding ground for people to test new product designs and better business models that are currently available. If done right, this initiative can help create a vibrant ecosystem of makers and creators within our communities sharing ideas and enabling each other to innovate.

Strengthen local economy: As people find new business models around circularity and start providing services locally, the local economy would strengthen and create new local entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the extra money people save as a result of repairing, reusing and reselling goods will surely strengthen local households financially and might also increase their spending locally.

Waste reduction: As repairs and reuses become popular, it will help reduce the waste generated by the city. Furthermore, adding junkyards as a feature to source material can even help upcycle the city’s waste.

Conclusion

We are currently overwhelmed by the problems facing our cities such as waste, pollution, social unrest, and growing inequality. Much of these problems can be attributed to the current trends of endless consumerism and centralisation in the means of production.

Public Tool’s Library will enable people to explore circular design principles which will break the current model of consumerism and encourage the philosophy of make, break, repair and modify at local levels of our society. This will reduce our waste generation, enable circularity, decentralise the means of production and strengthening our local economies. Tool’s Library can turn today’s consumer into tomorrow’s creator.