Umbrellas are useful items. Nobody likes to get caught in the rain without one. But there’s one major issue with them: as they are an occasional carry, and because you don’t put a wet umbrella in your bag or in a coat pocket, they are easily misplaced.

According to the London Business School, upwards of 80,000 umbrellas are lost on the London Underground every year. The New York City Independent Subway System reports similar figures. The Dutch ‘storm umbrella’ designer Senz estimates that 1.1 billion umbrellas are thrown out each year, a large chunk due to accidental abandonment.

Finally, there’s a solution: the shared-umbrella concept developed by start-up PLU (also Dutch: it rains a lot in the Netherlands).

So how does it work? Suppose you’re walking about town and you get caught in the rain without an umbrella. Simply go to the nearest PLU vending machine, scan the QR code, enter your personal details, and take an umbrella out. When the weather clears up, simply return it. And here’s the beauty of the concept: you don’t pay anything on the first day of use, unless you lose or damage the umbrella. The umbrellas have the logo of PLU sponsors on them.

PLU founders Nathalie Tuijp and Miguel Dionísio initially trialled the shared-umbrella concept at the campus of the University of Twente. Starting in June, ten PLU vending machines will be strategically placed across the city centre of the University’s home town, Enschede. Founder Nathalie Tuijp told local newspaper Tubantia that she wants PLU to conquer the world.

Considering that nearly 55 percent of Gen Z consumers in Europe are open to sharing expensive stuff such as their private vehicles with others, according to McKinsey, we think they’ll also be perfectly happy to share something as humble as their umbrella.