Free commerce

Before hitting the mall, find out whether someone in your city is getting rid of the thing you want, says Deron Beal, 40, founder of Freecycle.org, a Web site built on the premise that “one person’s trash is another’s treasure.”

Here’s how it works: As in the “free” section of Craigslist.org, users post what they’re giving or seeking, then coordinate the details. On thousands of Freecycle message boards, the dialogue looks like this: OFFERED: Two Pez dispensers. TAKEN: Krups espresso machine. WANTED: Garden hose that works. OFFERED: Adult diapers, size small.

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Another man’s garbage is your treasure
The old adage that beauty is in the eye of the beholder gets new life via a grassroots, online community called The FreeCycle Network (http://www.freecycle.org/). The network exists to make people’s unwanted items, like furniture, musical instruments, really anything, available free of charge to other people. They want to keep perfectly good stuff out of landfills and get it into the hands of people who will make good use of it. There are groups across the country that post items they want you to take, and all items posted must be entirely, honestly free. From the main site you find your local group, and register to receive their updates. You also post your own castoffs, of course. After all, what goes around comes around.

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Grass is Always Greener – top 10 environmental searches

1. Recycling

2. Global Warming

3. Freecycle

4. Earth

5. Pollution

6. Al Gore

7. Environmental Protection Agency

8. Live Earth

9. Hybrid Cars

10. Solar Energy

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The Freecycle Networkâ„¢ (Freecycle.org)
Need a ski rack, fertilizer spreader or ferret cage? You might be able to nab it for nothing at the online bulletin board Freecycle.org. The Freecycle Networkâ„¢ is a community-based service made up of 4,182 groups with 4,130,000 members across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving and getting stuff for free in their own towns. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer. Membership is free, and you join a specific community group that includes your geographical location. People in your area will post items they want to give away.Click here to read the article in full

Three pairs of women’s shoes. A box of record albums. Stereo equipment. A stovetop. A quill and ink bottle. A wicker basket. An acoustic guitar. A dehumidifier.

As I write, all those things and more are being offered for free on my local Freecycle Network. By the time you read this, they’ll be taken. As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

“What is really interesting about Freecycle,” says Daniel Ben-Horin, the founder of a nonprofit Web site called TechSoup, “is that unlike a lot of virtual communities, something very concrete happens.”

“It appeals to people’s thrift, to their green impulses and to their sense of community,” Ben-Horin says. “I think that’s brilliant.”

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Sites You’ll Like

freecycle.org
Got stuff? Want stuff? Freecycle is a grassroots movement to connect people who want to swap things they no longer need. This site links to local groups around the wor

“…Freecycle [as] an “on-line version of the bulletin board at your favourite coffee shop.” Interested individuals go to a website, and post a notice about what they’re looking for; anyone who wants it can come and get it, or swap something for it. All Freecycle demands is that users post courtesy message to let others know an item is no longer available.

Give it away, give it away, give it away now
Grist Magazine - grist magazine

05.19.04 - Let’s say you’re cleaning out your garage. Maybe you run across some old cans of paint and a couple of ricket

Don’t need that old blender? ‘Freecycle’ it

People in 350 communities have found a means of ridding themselves of stuff they don’t want and finding what they do — and no cash changes hands.

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