WTH’s Story
Scroll for helpful tips,
stories, and news.
Strength through sharing: The growing value of free exchanges
Battery-powered mowers and hedge trimmers at the new South Portland Electric Tool Library (SPETL) are checked out almost as soon as they’re returned. Demand is high among local residents for fume-free and relatively quiet yard equipment that lowers carbon emissions.
The SPETL grew out of One Climate Future, a planning document jointly prepared by the Cities of South Portland and Portland to foster climate resilience and cut carbon pollution. One way to realize those goals is by sharing resources, tools and services — eliminating, in the plan’s words, “the precedent that every individual or household must own their own items.” Using the public library model, the SPETL offers free access to yard appliances that are literally checked out using library cards.
A $16,000 solid waste diversion grant from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection funded the SPETL which is among Maine’s first equipment libraries (others include a membership-based tool lending library run by a Portland nonprofit, and a shared-use program for farm equipment administered by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association). The SPETL has already sparked inquiries from several communities interested in replicating its electric tool-sharing model.