I WENT along to the Borrow Bus as it made its weekly appearence in Mold to see first hand what kind of items it had to offer.
Every Wednesday from 10am, the Borrow Bus can be found parked up at Daniel Owen Square and offers residents a unique opportunity to rent out an array of items ranging from hedge trimmers to air fryers!
Upon entering the square, the bus was situated just to the left of the main entrance. As I boarded the bus, it really was a mobile library of things. I was greeted by Dafydd Roberts who was in charge on the day and he was more than happy to show me all the different items available for people to borrow.
At first glance, the whole set-up can seem a little bizarre, but when you actually take time to go through the various things, the whole initiative just makes sense as the items really were appliances you don't necceserily need to go out and purchase if just using a hand full of times.
To name just a few of the things I saw, there were air fryers, extension leads, chairs, carpet cleaners, garden equipment, tools, lawn mowers, strimmers, hedge trimmers, mixers, soup makers, de-humidifiers and much more!
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When asked about the appeal of the Borrow Bus, Dafydd said: "It's about changing the mind set for people in 'one-off' situations if they have to do a job or a bit of DIY.
"Rather than going out and buying for the one occasion, it's about hiring. It saves space in the house and also saves money as well.
"We have set places we go every week. On Wednesdays, we are in Mold all day.
"We've been on the road for about 10 months now so we haven't had a full year behind us, but the one item that is most popular is the Rug Doctor carpet cleaners.
"Other items such as the de-humidifiers at the start of the year, they were out solidly but now with summer approaching, a lot of strimmers and hedge trimmers are becoming increasingly popular.
"The air-fryers are also very much an 'in-thing' at the moment, so people will come in, try them out, before they commit to buying."
Areas covered in the scheme include Llangollen, Mold, Denbigh and Ruthin and the bus visits on a weekly basis. Each town associated with the project has a shared goal of allowing the local community to have access to shared equipment.
The Borrow Bus scheme also gives resource equity to communities and individuals allowing for self-motivated learning whilst reducing waste and CO2 emissions into the local and wider regions.
The Borrow Bus team is always looking for new ideas that could help with the development of their work and encourage residents to get in touch.
It can be found on the following days...
Tuesday
Morning - Market Street Car Park, Llangollen
Afternoon - Pengwern Community Hub
Wednesday
Morning - Daniel Owen Square, Mold
Afternoon - Daniel Owen Square, Mold
Thursday
Morning - Morrisons, Denbigh
Afternoon - Pwllglas Shop
Friday
Morning - Co-Op, Ruthin
Afternoon - Main Car Park, Corwen
For more information about the Borrow Bus and how to obtain a membership to be able to use the service, please visit borrowbus.wales
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