Toy libraries become popular

EVER spent a small fortune on a toy for your child, only to find he or she prefers playing with the cardboard box it came in?

With the lifespan of cheaply made plastic toys no longer than a few weeks, or minutes in some instances, buying good, solid toys can mean paying a bit extra. And as children rapidly outgrow their toys, such an investment doesn’t always make sense.

The options for recycling plastic toys are limited because they typically comprise various other materials, often metals.

The recyclable components can’t be separated and so they are banned from recycling centres and bins. With only 10% of the estimated 59million tons of general waste produced in South Africa in 2011 recycled (National Waste Information Baseline Report published by the Department of Environmental Affairs), the case for reducing and reusing is strong.

In response, parents are turning to toy sharing subscriptions, which have been growing in popularity, with searches increasing by 313% on Pinterest. They give kids the opportunity to play with a steady supply of new distractions while saving parents money and eliminating landfill waste.

Toy sharing subscriptions enable families to borrow toys for a set period and return them. It works like a library, but you pay a monthly fee. And instead of books, every month you get different toys in the mail.

Parents worried about germs will be relieved to know that such companies have strict sanitising policies for returned toys. Most of the websites claim plastic toys are cleaned in “ultrasonic baths” and wooden toys are cleaned with “nontoxic, environmentally friendly, anti-bacterial wipes”.