Freecycle – Keeping Good Stuff Out Of Landfill
Some time ago I came across an article about Freecylce and how it aims to keep good stuff out of landfill. Freecycle basically are a large number of mailing lists where people can advertise stuff for free that they no longer need.
One of Freecycle’s main rules is that anything that you advertise needs to be free. My first thought at the time was: “Great, I can now get all this stuff for free. This is going to save me buckets of money.”
I have quickly come to realise though that Freecycle really is not about saving money or getting stuff for free, it’s about finding a new home for stuff that is still good / working so that you don’t put it in the rubbish where it ends up in landfill.
Of course I have found a few things that I thought were pretty neat but what has actually given me more satisfaction is when I have been able to give away some stuff that we had no use for any longer.
One example is a laundry trolley that is still working but was just surplus to our household as we already have another laundry trolley. I advertised that trolley and found a new home for it within one afternoon. The lady that came and picked it up really appreciates the trolley and makes good use of it now.
To check out if Freecycle is available in your area go to: http://www.freecycle.org/group and look through the areas already covered by a Freecycle group.
If you have stuff, that is still good but that are not using anymore and its kind of in your way, please consider joining Freecycle and advertising your item.
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Mark and Rosalba are building a strawbale house!
August 27th, 2008 at 11:59
I think I heard about that site on the news (or a similar one). I think it’s a great idea but have not tried it yet.
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August 27th, 2008 at 14:21
We have a local freecycle group and ours is pretty “hot” – anything really good is snapped up in a matter of minutes! But, it is a great way to reuse and recycle items that are no longer needed. I’ve seen some pretty weird stuff be listed, but there’s almost always a taker – your trash is someone else’s treasure!
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August 27th, 2008 at 14:47
Rats! None in New Mexico … :-/
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August 28th, 2008 at 16:12
Hi Guys,
Have been following your blog since the beginning, love hearing about the various ’stuff’ you’ve discovered. Can’t wait to follow the building phase (considering a workshop at all?). I too have a ’straw bale dream’ and hope to one day build my very own sustainable house. Keep up the good work!
All the best
Beth
August 28th, 2008 at 16:56
@Beth:
Yes we are considering a workshop for the laying of the bales and for the rendering part. If we indeed do a workshop we will advertise this on this blog, of course.
August 30th, 2008 at 5:21
Yeehawwww…I love FreeCycle. The absolute joy of knowing that your unwanteds have gone to another family, rather than land fill, is awesome. I use the Cairns/Tablelands one regularly – both to give and receive (I got guinea pigs and a hutch off Freecycle).
September 1st, 2008 at 14:42
This is great information that I had no idea about. Thanks!
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September 1st, 2008 at 23:49
I am a member of Freecycle and have been for a few years. I love the concept, that your unwanteds go to good use somewhere else.
I have given away much more than I received, and am glad that someone is able to use what I no longer do.
I recently picked up a bag of books for my grandson from a generous freecycler and he had tons to read over summer vacation!
Great article!
Thanks.
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