Freecycle – Another way to reduce your environmental toll is buying used equipment and office products, or at least reselling or giving away your old equipment once it’s no longer needed. Freecycle is an online community that helps businesses find other businesses in their area to swap with.
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6. Online Swaps
Web sites like BookMooch (http://bookmooch.com/) and Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) connect people interested in unloading or finding items. BookMooch allows bookworms to list books they own and would like to swap for those they’d like to read. The Freecycle Network is comprise of thousands of groups interested in giving and getting in their local areas.
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In the years Robert Schryer has been the moderator of Abilene’s Freecycle e-mail list, he’s seen his share of fairly memorable requests and offers come to the table.
From a coconut shell bathing suit top needed for a school play, to a pig’s bladder to make a ball for a historical re-creation, to an actual house (that turned out, unfortunately, to be condemned), Schryer fails to be surprised these days by what people ask for or put up on the e-mail service.
“To me, it’s amazing,” said Schryer, who started an Abilene version of the Freecycle list in April 2004. “No matter just about what it is, in no time you can have someone who can pick it up.”
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Interested in living more sustainably? You’re invited to the City of Beaverton’s Seventh Annual Neighborhood Summit: “Living Greener: Learn how to be sustainable at home on a budget.” The summit will feature presenters from Energy Trust, Portland State University, and Clackamas River Water Providers. There will be exhibits from more than 40 local organizations, including 20 Beaverton businesses. Activities for children will be available including crafts made from recycled material.
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In response to the letter regarding people dumping their furniture and other items on the street: There is a Web site called freecycle.org, where anyone can sign up for free and either offer items you want to get rid of or request items that you need.
Everything is free, no buying or selling is allowed. I have found this Web site invaluable. People will come with their trucks to pick up unwanted furniture, old rugs and we even gave away a hot tub. It would have cost us $500 to have it hauled away. We communicate by e-mail, put the items in the driveway and the next morning or even the same day they were gone.
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Recycling: You knew this was coming. There are countless recycling projects across the country, and fortunately, you can contribute and benefit with minimal effort and cost. Coca-Cola Drink 2 Wear shirts, made from recycled Coke bottles, are available at Wal-mart. Freecycle.com is a website dedicated to recycling gently used goods by allowing individuals to post them and others to pick them up. Additionally, several outfitters offer handbags made of recyclables. It’s even easier to go local in Farmville. Madeline’s House is a thrift store across from Wilck’s Lake and the proceeds go to a shelter for abused women and children.
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Ofra Sharon-Afir has discovered all sorts of people willing to take her junk. Through PhillyFreecycle, a group of people who take unwanted goods off each others’ hands, she found homes for her oven, 180 dishes, more than 1,000 books, 200 records and rugs that her dogs had peed on.
Thanks to the Internet-based group, the Olney woman cleared out about 80 percent of her house. It was a relief for Sharon-Afir, who proudly shows off her near-empty kitchen cabinets. “I collected a lot of things: books, videos, cassettes, CDs, knitting items,” says the middle-aged, retired folk singer and semi-retired doula. “I fluctuate between a collector and a minimalist, so it’s perfect for me.”
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Freecycle.org
Freecyle is organized into community groups of which there are currently 4,866 worldwide with almost 7 million members. It’s a bit more disjointed than Kashless.org, with different community groups having different accounts at Yahoo Groups, which you must join to use. And, to be honest, Yahoo Groups is a bit out of date as a social networking tool. Freecycle is careful to give warnings about allowing strangers into your home, which may put a damper on social networking but makes sense in a city like New York or anywhere else for that matter. And for items in high demand, such as guitars, a search will bring up many “wanted” listings unless you use Freecycle’s specific terminology and search for “offer: guitar.” Still, you may just find that perfect bookshelf for your manga collection.
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Our local homeless shelter is bursting at the seams. Our local food bank has empty shelves. Why shouldn’t a charitable, respected organization have permission to serve the very real needs of those who can benefit from discarded stuff? Those of you regular readers already know about the phenomenon of FreeCycle. … That Internet network of folks wanting to give away things rather than trash them or try to sell them in a yard sale. So, why this snooty outcry against an established outlet for clean, quality, useful things attracting those who really need them (not to mention providing employment for people unable to find other work)?
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Are you a pack-rat? Do you have a habit of convincing yourself that one day your unused possessions may serve a purpose? Do you make impulse buys that ultimately end up gathering dust in the closet? Most of all do you enjoy receiving free stuff?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions then becoming a part of Freecycle.org may be the perfect solution for you.
Freecycle.org is one of many Web sites designed to offer and receive goods freely with no strings attached. There is no currency involved, nor selling, trading or bartering; just simply giving.
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