BBC - Tees - We Are Teesside - Something for nothing

Something for nothing
Alice Wood runs the Middlesbrough Chapter of Freecycle, an internet community which has 1.2 million members, who give things away for free….

Freecycle Facts

* The site is the creation of Deron Beal, an environmentalist from Arizona, who started it in mid-2003 as an automated e-mail list.
* The idea behind the site is to reduce the amount of rubbish sent to landfill sites by encouraging one of the most efficient forms of recycling - giving things away.
* The Freecycle network has 1.2 million members in 2,700 clusters worldwide.
* There are 60 groups in the UK - which means goods can be picked up rather than posted, handy for bulky items such as sofas.

Alice says, “I heard about it over the radio and they were talking about recycling and I liked the idea, and thought someone should start one, so I thought, hang it, I’ll start one.

“We’re approaching 1500 members in Middlesbrough, and we’ve had people offer breezeblocks, football programmes, doors, baths, baby clothes, tables, tiles, and tvs.

“The very first thing I had was a knitting machine. I couldn’t believe my luck. They’re 300 quid new, and I thought wow.

So why do people choose to use freecycle rather than selling their stuff on auction sites?

“You have to advertise on them and pay for the privilege and it’s a case of can I really be bothered?

“There’s a really nice feeling when you give something away and you make them happy.

“You are giving something but you’re making someone’s life better aswell - they need it and might not be able to afford it.

“When I was a kid, we used to pass things along our street and I think the idea of –re-using things is coming back.

“We’ve had a box of books on the site that’s gone round various people and it’s back again now.

“It’s a really nice thing to do, we’ve got a good sense of community.”
Listen to the full feature in the ‘See Also’ Section in the top right of this page.