Seattle's largest reuse center covers an entire city block downtown, between Fourth and Fifth avenues and Madison and Spring streets. It's called the Central Library.
Only recently have I realized how much libraries and waste prevention (two of my greatest passions) go together. A library is the ultimate free reuse center - a monument to waste reduction.
I especially love the Central Library. My 15-year-old daughter practically lives there, and I often meet her there after work and we walk home together. It's an architectural masterpiece, with its soaring ceilings, industrial-style gridwork, wild colors and quirky art installations. The fourth floor is painted so dark red, you feel like you're inside a heart.
Some people can't stand it. They think the architecture is too cold, and that the library is not "user-friendly" enough. But to me it's an inspiring, original statement, not always easy but well worth the effort to get to know it. Just like the best books.
"Too many smelly homeless people" - That's another remark you hear sometimes about the Central Library. I say, get over it. Hardly anyone in there really smells that bad. And I'm glad people who don't have any place else to go can come to such a beautiful building and read books for free, or play chess.
You can even drink coffee and other beverages in the Central Library. That was the first thing the mayor mentioned at the grand opening - You know you're in Seattle when you can even drink coffee in the library.
The majesty of the Central Library building encourages people to use the library, which is wonderful. Don't you think a lot of us take libraries for granted? A place where books, magazines, documents, CDs, and DVDs are all shared freely - to me it's a hallmark of civilization, and a very sensible way to reduce waste.
Why couldn't we use this model for other things? Well, we can. The Phinney Neighborhood Association in North Seattle has a tool lending library, where association members can borrow tools for a suggested weekly tool maintenance fee. The prices seem reasonable - for example, $9 for a wheelbarrow, or $15 for a circular saw. If you only need a tool once, it makes much more sense to borrow it this way than to buy it.
Flexcar is another successful sharing model, also for a fee. Flexcar now has more than 300 vehicles available in the Seattle area, nearly 100 of them hybrids. Nationally, a big growth market is colleges - Flexcar is now on 34 campuses around the country. That makes sense. Many students don't have cars, but need one every once in a while. And it was just announced that Flexcar is merging with Zipcar to form a powerhouse national car-sharing company.
For clothing, a different approach has been successful. Several Swap-O-Rama-Rama clothing swap events have been held in the Seattle area, with more surely to come.
Will a self-service, fee-based, bicycle-sharing system be next for Seattle, like the wildly popular new Velib in Paris?
We can only hope.