Freecycle Network in 2003 when he couldn’t find a place to recycle a perfectly good bed. The website started as a small group of friends and has grown to over 10 million members in 5,000 online communities across 110 countries. Volunteers moderate the groups, and Beal estimates members kept more than 807 million pounds of used items out of landfills in the last year alone.
Summer is a popular time for yard and garage sales, and you can get rid of unwanted stuff you might not need at your new home. Alternatively, you can donate your housewares, books, clothes, and other items to local charity organizations.
‘Thank you so much again for lending it, and for the swag; we generated lots of excitement about FreeCycle on campus and saw a big increase in engagement with our town!! We had a few local businesses donate sustainable items like tote bags, a gift card to a local vegan restaurant, and a free repair for Birkenstocks which we drew winners for from a raffle of all the new and engaged users. I’m attaching a picture of the table as well as one of the BLUElab Metro Waste Reduction team. I apologize that we didn’t get one of all of us together at the table, we were often working in shifts of 2-3 at a time to accommodate class schedules.’
Information provided by Stephanie Smith of the University Of Michigan
The idea behind giveaway groups like Freecycle or Buy Nothing that started in neighborhoods has evolved to travel. It has created an ecosystem within these pay-it-forward movements where travelers pass on free stuff at the end of a trip by sharing the location of the loot on social media.
“Free cycle” and “buy nothing” groups are gaining popularity online and through new apps as consumers find new ways to save money on everyday items amid rising inflation.
"Free cycle" and "buy nothing" groups are gaining popularity online and through new apps as consumers find new ways to save money on everyday items amid rising inflation. @bworley has more on the movement. pic.twitter.com/qA5gfDpEQh
Free cycle and buy nothing groups are gaining popularity online and through new apps as consumers find new ways to save money on everyday items as inflation soars.
Freecycle and buy nothing groups are gaining popularity online and through new apps as consumers find new ways to save money on everyday items as inflation soars.
Globally, there are thousands of local groups representing millions of members – people helping people and ‘changing the world, one gift at a time’ through using Freecycle services.
By giving freely with no strings attached, members of the Freecycle Network help to instil a sense of generosity of spirit as they strengthen local community ties and promote environmental sustainability and reuse. The existence of Facebook has facilitated these contacts being made.
In line with their aim to foster and promote environmental projects, Castleknock Tidy Towns (CTT) set up Castleknock Freecycle in October ’22, also on Facebook, where people who have items they no longer want or need, can give it away to other local people.
