Volunteers from Monmouthshire’s four Benthyg Libraries of Things gathered at County Hall to celebrate all that the projects have achieved to date.
Benthyg is the Welsh word for borrow or lend. The aim of a library of things is to:
- borrow things you need but don't own, at low cost, saving money and space
- donate things you own but don't need
- meet to share knowledge and skills
Monmouthshire now has four Benthyg sites, with the most recent in Chepstow opening this summer adding to Monmouth, Abergavenny and Caldicot.
Since the first Benthyg opened in 2022 in Monmouth, there has been a total of 3,411 borrows, which equates to a cost saving of £73,200 for residents, with 41,479kg of carbon dioxide saved.
Monmouthshire County Council organised the celebration to say thank you to the volunteers for all they do each week, and to give them a chance to meet each other and share ideas and encouragement.
Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment, Councillor Catrin Maby said:
“The circular economy is all about reducing waste by keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible, for example by reusing, maintaining, repurposing, recycling and composting.
“Benthyg volunteers are doing a great job of ensuring items are used again and again, rather than bought, used once and then either thrown away or left rusting in a shed.
“This helps people save money and also helps to protect our environment.”
