Introduce a network of Toy Libraries around Wales
Published: 17 May 2024
Children’s toys can be expensive, are often used only for a short time, can add to the clutter in homes and often end up thrown away, even if they aren’t broken.
Toy libraries are an established way of helping provide access to lots of toys that children might otherwise not encounter due to cost or even space limitations at home. They offer cost-effective alternatives to buying new toys, can act as community hubs to bring parents and carers together and can help reduce our use of resources.
Parents and carers spend on average around £300 on toys every year. Lots of these are made from plastic. With most plastic being made from oil, it is estimated that unless we do something about it, by 2050, plastic could account for around 20% of all global oil consumption.
Toy libraries have their part to play in reducing waste, reducing plastic use, reducing climate emissions and also saving parents, carers and families money.
They would help deliver on Welsh Government’s focus on a child’s ‘right to play’ and the ‘circular economy’.
We ask that Welsh Government work with all relevant groups in Wales to introduce a nationwide network of toy libraries.
