Deutsche Post's Packstation

Earlier this month, I posted a piece musing about the possibility of home delivery becoming a bigger lever for sustainable living. One of the big challenges there, of course, is that we're not always home, and leaving packages on our stoop is not always safe.

Recently, though, Martin Tillman turned me on to Deutsche Post's Packstation.

Packstations are sort of like neighorhood parcel ATMs: they hold packages which couldn't be delivered to you directly for you to claim with a swipe card and a pin. You get SMS'd or emailed a notification and pick up the package at your convenience. You can also send packages out. They seem to work:

The 24/7 service is popular. About 570,000 people have registered for the Packstation service so far, and the trend continues. Some 700 Packstations currently operate throughout Germany. By the end of 2007, some 150 machines will be added in an additional 20 German cities and municipalities. The services offered by the machines will also be expanded this year.

This seems to me a perfectly decent solution to part of the problem.

Anyone know of other interesting innovations in this field?
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(Posted by Alex Steffen in Bright Green Economy at 2:40 PM)