Avid recyclers and reusers will have explored the depths of Freecycle before but we set a challenge to see if a house could be furnished with items from the website.
The Freecycle Network is another alternative to throwing away, especially for larger items, and offers people the chance to pass on unwanted items to a new loving home – for free!
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Freecycle – Freecycle is a grassroots organization built on the idea of people in an area giving away stuff for free that they don’t need. The network has gotten extremely large and can be a great place to find stuff, including boxes for moving. You need to sign up first and then post what you are looking for.
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The pope is issuing an encyclical about human-caused impacts on the environment. The president tells Coast Guard Academy graduates that climate change is a clear national security issue. Climate Action Brookline chips away at our intransigence. And The Recycling Corner continues to nag.
Solid waste is a big part of the environmental discussion. Thankfully, most residents of Brookline seem to get it, and many do something about it.
In Brookline, this is what “the many” are doing about their old stationary bikes.
Joining the Freecycle network: Freecycle.org is a grassroots movement with almost 9 million members who give away their gently used stuff or get others’ gently used stuff for free — all in an effort to keep the aforementioned gently used stuff out of landfills and waste-to-energy plants. Membership is free. Local volunteers monitor the network. Finally giving up that old but in good condition stationary bicycle? Need a stationary bike to help recover from that knee replacement? Maybe freecycle.org can make the match!
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5. The Freecycle Network
The Freecycle Network is made up of nearly 9 million members worldwide. It is dedicated to enabling members to get and give stuff for free in order to put goods to their most efficient use — and keep usable items out of landfills. This nonprofit describes itself as a “grassroots movement,” and local volunteer moderators help handle network activity to keep exchanges safe and posts accurate. Membership is free.
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`Freecycle networking connects people from all over the world. It’s a grassroots and nonprofit effort in which people give and receive merchandise for free.
Some say it’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by area volunteers.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS
There are thousands of locally run, grassroots freecycling groups worldwide. Once you join a local group or start one, posts can be created for items to give away. Here’s how to advertise an item:
• First, you need something to scrap, such as a bike.
• Instead of throwing it away, do an online search and join a local freecycling group. Access a website, such as www.trashnothing.com, to conduct a search.
• Create a new “offer” post that is sent to the group and seen by all of the group members. SAMPLE OFFER: Mountain bike (in Massillon) I have an old blue mountain bike available. It could use some oil and the tires are a bit worn but it’s a great starter bike.
• Group members interested in your bike will contact you privately.
• You choose which person you would like to give the bike to.
• Between you and the selected recipient, a time and place are arranged for picking up the bike.
• The bike is picked up, and you let everyone in your network know that the bike is no longer available by sending a “taken” post.
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Before Craigslist, before even Facebook, there was Freecycle.
The grassroots Freecycle movement began 12 years ago – ancient history, in Internet years – with an email. The email was from founder Deron Beal in Arizona to 30 or 40 recipients, announcing the Freecycle Network as a convenient way for people to exchange desired items at no cost. Now the nonprofit organization comprises millions of members in thousands of groups in 85 countries around the world. Freecycle reports keeping 500 tons a day out of landfills.
Long Beach Island recently has its own group on freecycle.org, thanks to Diana Can of North Beach. Just type the Island ZIP code 08008 into the search bar and click the provided link to the LBI group. With 222 members at press time, the site showed one offer for a blue and white striped sectional couch in Beach Haven Terrace, someone in need of a TV stand for a 42-inch Panasonic plasma TV and one asking for a bicycle basket.
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