The Mission

To reduce constant repurchasing of every-day material goods such as vacuum cleaners, course books, bike pumps and many others through rental via an app available to the UM community. This will encourage the reuse of items, creating a community that is self-sustainable and self-reliant, promoting circularity. Furthermore, this affordable service aims to improve the well-being of UM members by making household items and educational resources more accessible at a lower price for the amount of time that they are needed.

The Challenge

Students at UM regularly are in need of short-term everyday items (including textbooks, cleaning and kitchen tools, small appliances and other goods). The options that are currently available to the students are costly, wasteful, cannot be trusted to a full extent, and are difficult to coordinate. UM students often work part time jobs simply to sustain their expenses, buying new is expensive and unsustainable in the long run. Facebook and whatsapp groups tend to have scams and can be unsafe. Services such as Vinted and Facebook market place lack university verification and have tricky pickup and return points. Thus, there is no UM-verified, on campus system that safely deals with supply and demand, and provides safety and security for all. The individuals that endure the most from this are first year students, exchange students and generally students who live on a tight budget. This is also felt by students during peak periods, such as during exam season, or moving days. The reality is that there is a gap, which undermines UM’s vision for a circular campus where reuse will reduce the “material” footprint, and emphasize student well-being.

The solution

We seek to design an app that will be available to every person in possession of a valid UM card and an ID, where everyday household goods, educational material and other items will be made available for rent. Each individual will be granted access by making an account with their credentials on this app to ensure no scammers. Items must be listed at a reasonable price, subject to a cap depending on the category of the item. Owners will state any condition associated with the item and its available rental period. Pick up will only be possible within a limited number of UM premises to ensure safety of both parties involved and this will be made visible during checkout and in Terms&Conditions. A two-way rating system will be established to give a reassurance of proper conduct.