Lane Cove families love play, but the statistics tell a story about how quickly many toys become waste in Australia.
The Lane Cove Toy Library is a not-for-profit toy library run by local volunteers located at 47 Burns Bay Road, Lane Cove (opposite Harris Farm Markets).
TLCTL operates out of premises owned by Lane Cove Council. The Council also provides annual funding supplemented with affordable membership fees.
The Toy Library has toys, games and puzzles for ages 0 to 18 (some puzzles and games will appeal to Adults). The Toy Library has over 1800 toys, games and puzzles.
What the Statistics Tell Us
National research led by Sustainability Victoria and the Australian Toy Association confirms that around half of new toys in Australia become waste within 12 months of being bought, with most of that ending up in landfill rather than being recovered or reused.
In Victoria alone, this translates to more than 26,000 tonnes of toy waste a year, with about 87% going straight to landfill – a pattern that reflects what’s happening across the country.
UK and international surveys show that, on average, kids lose interest in a new toy in just 36 days, with some bored within a day.
What This Means for Lane Cove
Market analysts estimate the Australian toy market is now worth around AUD $1.8–2.5 billion a year, implying well over 200 million individual toys and games are sold annually once low-priced impulse and novelty items are included.
When roughly half of those toys are likely to become waste within a year, communities like Lane Cove bear the consequences in overflowing bins, hard-to-recycle plastics and rising waste-management costs.
For local families facing cost-of-living pressure and limited storage at home, the cycle of “buy, play briefly, discard” is financially and environmentally unsustainable.
How the Lane Cove Toy Library Does It Differently
At The Lane Cove Toy Library, a single toy can be borrowed by dozens of families over many years, turning what might have been a few weeks of use in one household into hundreds of hours of shared play time.
By choosing to borrow instead of buy, Lane Cove families avoid adding to the 50% of toys that typically become waste within a year and help keep toys circulating locally rather than heading to landfill.
Parents and Grandparents regularly tell the hardworking Lane Cove Toy Library volunteers that borrowing is the perfect antidote to “36-day toys”: children still get the excitement of something new, but when the novelty wears off, the toy goes back on the shelf for another family instead of into the red bin.
A Local Invitation to Play More Sustainably
The Lane Cove Toy Library invites families to rethink those headline statistics – especially around big sales periods – and to see a toy library membership as a simple, practical climate action that fits easily into everyday life.
Every time a Lane Cove family borrows instead of buying, they help cut plastic waste, reduce demand for short-lived toys and show children that caring for shared things is normal, not the exception.
Getting Started with the Lane Cove Toy Library
For families interested in joining, membership is affordable and includes access to hundreds of quality, well-maintained toys, meaningful volunteering opportunities, and a welcoming community of like-minded families.
The Lane Cove Toy Library offers a click-and-collect system. However, if you would like a tour of The Lane Cove Toy Library, email them here, and they will arrange a time for you to pop in and see why it is one of the fastest-growing toy libraries in Australia.
Does the Toy Library Accept Donations?
Yes, but to avoid duplication, the Toy Library requests that you complete the donation form on their website. Toys manufactured by a brand name are requested so that a product safety recall check can be undertaken.
The Lane Cove Toy Library Contact Details
Address:  47 Burns Bay Road Lane Cove NSW – parking behind the building
Website:Â https://thelanecovetoylibrary.org.au/
Facebook:Â @thelanecovetoylibrary
Instagram:@thelanecovetoylibrary/
Email:Â [email protected]
Opening Hours: Thursdays and Saturdays, 9.30 am to 12.00 pm. They also open on Tuesday afternoons (time will be confirmed in late January 2026.
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