Equipment Rental and Waste Reduction

Recycling programs may be the first thought that comes to mind when one speaks of waste reduction. However, the recycling industry does face multiple challenges, including the cost of maintaining a recycling business, poor recycling quality due to contamination of recyclables, and low demand for recycled products, just to name a few. Recycling, if done correctly, could be an effective way to a sustainable future, but at present we see many obstacles in recycling. We believe there are other ways individuals can contribute to waste reduction, and we believe that minimizing waste at source is also a vital way in reducing waste. 

At Elephant Please, we encourage customers to rent items online so as to give an item as many “reuses” as possible. Think about all those times when we have gotten rid of an item just because they are no longer useful to us - how much waste have we produced? Just because an item no longer has any value to us does not mean it is completely useless - it may be useful for someone out there! These items do not need to go to the landfills - they can be rented out and used by other people. Take a photo, post it online, and someone may be able to rent it to use. It also encourages people to look online for products to rent instead of buying brand new items for us every time (which may also end up in the landfill shortly after their use). Therefore, equipment rental could be key to waste reduction and a sustainable future.