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Archive for the ‘International’ Category
BHG.Com: Create Savvy Storage by Repurposing
Wednesday, June 19th, 2013You Tube: TimeBank Tom signs up for Freecycle
Friday, March 1st, 2013Read more
Yahoo Voices: The beauty of Freecycling
Sunday, February 3rd, 2013Recently I had a massive clear out of things in my house to make room for some needed renovations. I unloaded books, old televisions, furniture, you name it. In early early stages of shifting I became very disappointed with many of the charities I tried to donate things to. I found their attitude absolutely appalling and some of their comments insulting. I was about to give up entirely and just leave everything I didn’t want in my front garden to let the neighborhood have a free for all. Then I stumbled upon a beautiful website called Freecycle.org.
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Earth911.com: A Decade of Sharing: The Freecycle Network Turns 10
Thursday, January 17th, 2013At some point, most of us have probably given away things we didn’t need to friends or family members. But what should you do when you don’t know anyone who wants the leftover dirt from your gardening project or your old lawnmower? One solution is to check out The Freecycle Network, an organization that encourages people to participate in a culture of giving.
Freecycle, a website founded in May of 2003 by Deron Beal of Tucson, Ariz., began when Beal wanted to donate a bed, but couldn’t find any local organizations willing to accept one. Beal wanted to create a way for people to give away items that still had value, but that might otherwise end up in a landfill. To solve the problem, Beal got together a small group of friends interested in sharing the things they no longer needed, and that initial group has grown into a project that boasts 9 million members in more than 110 countries.
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Inside Out Cafe: The gift of Freecycle on 12/12/12
Tuesday, December 18th, 2012My Gift to you on 12/12/12 is the gift of recycling using Freecycle. This nonprofit organization is a way to recycle your items to others who are in need of your discards. And it’s the perfect way for you to locate items that others are discarding.
I’ve used Freecycle many times and just last month someone who was in need of a 32 in JVC color TV that I wanted to give way – emailed me to say she could use it for her church group. Done. Out of my door and into hers.
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GETMEADOGGYBAG: Freecycle
Monday, December 10th, 2012If you aren’t using freecycle, you’re not living. Freecycle is a website where you can get, and give away, useful items, for free. You can get some amazing things from there, and you can get rid of a lot of stuff that you may think is crap. The basic philosophy behind freecycle is finding a use for things that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
How does it work? Visit http://www.freecycle.org/group/nz/. Register. Check the listings. Sign up to receive the emails. If you have something to give away, make a post, if you have something you want, make a post. There are a lot of generous people out there and if you let people know you need something, you will be surprised how many people are willing to help.
I have tried to give something away on freecycle each time I have picked something up. To keep the balance right, if you will. Here are some examples of how freecycle has worked for me:
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Yahoo News: Where to Get The Most Money For Your Used Gadgets
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012A final option is Freecycle. The Freecycle Network has over 5000 groups around the world that match people getting rid of old items with those who want it. You won’t make any money with this one, but it may keep things that you think are junk from going into the landfill.
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Subversify: Giving Away Stories
Tuesday, May 8th, 2012I ended up offering up five via Freecycle.org. of which I gave away two. I did make it a point to greet the freecyclers face to face which I don’t normally do when giving other things away like old clothes and plant starts or whatever. It was my first interesting encounter of the day.
Two lovely ladies turned up on my doorstep and were very excited to get books. They also wanted to give me some. Not Book Night books, just books that they had. I didn’t need any of the books they had so they asked me how they could give them away. I did not know I was becoming an expert on book giving, these were my first two.
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Green Prophet: Sustainable Break-up Tips To Turn Your Blues Green
Monday, March 5th, 2012While you’re at it, divorce yourself from middle men (and women).
Why not dump things directly? Craigslist is a forum for posting classifieds, services and goods swapping with branches specific to Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine and Israel. Post things you want taken away, for free or for a price. Freecycle is a nonprofit that’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of garbage bins. When I lived in recycling-crazed Ireland, rather than paying to dispose of 140 cardboard shipping boxes at the county waste center, I posted on Dublin Freecycle. Four different guys responded and in a matter of days, carted away all the cartons. This stuff works. There are Freecycle groups active in Cairo, Damascus, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Ankara.
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National Geographic:List of Recyclable Household Items
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012Big Stuff and Old Threads
Furniture, appliances and clothing may be broken, dated and outgrown, but still have plenty of use left in them. If the clothing isn’t threadbare, wash and donate it to a resale charity like Goodwill Industries or the Salvation Army. An alternative is to consign clothing through a shop or sell it through a neighborhood coop or online resale site. You can create a swap recycling system for children’s clothes with neighbors, family or school friends. Furniture can go to charity resellers like Housing Works or Salvation Army, church bazaars, online sales or to The Freecycle Network. If the furniture is trashed enough to be trash, break it down and put appropriate materials in various recycling bins for metals and plastics. Untreated wood and some fabrics might go in your compost pile. Household appliances that no longer work go to scrap metal recyclers or municipal dumps that handle those items.
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