Buy second-hand Reusing products in their manufactured form rather than reconstituting them by recycling conserves material and energy, as well as the labour and cultural value that went into making them. From stores like Goodwill and Value Village to the freecycle.org network, which has over 3000 members in Edmonton, to that dumpster behind the store for the truly committed, turning one person’s trash into another’s treasure is easy

With apologies to Kermit — it’s actually pretty easy being green.

All it takes is a little extra effort and some ecological know-how, and your family can reduce the size of its “eco footprint” — that trendy term that is the measure of the amount of nature’s resources your family consumes in a given year.

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#25. Sometimes you just can’t afford to buy new. There is a community called
Freecycle where you can give and get stuff for free. Go to www.freecycle.org
for more info. The idea is to reduce waste in landfills.

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Thunder Bay Freecycle : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thunderbayfreecycle

A local environmental group is going the extra mile when it comes to recycling and is taking the old expression ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ to productive new heights.

Since 2004 Freecycle Thunder Bay has been trading everything from books and cookie cutters to washers and dryers and group organizer Tessa Soderberg says with Earth Day on Tuesday, April 22 what better way to get involved in reducing waste than to join in.|

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HURON PARK — “If you want something, just ask for it,” says Ian Palmatier, who, along with his wife Cindy is a member of Huron County Freecycle, which is part of the international Freecycle network, a non-profit Internet movement of people who keep useful material out of landfills by giving and receiving items for free.

Cindy has been a member of the Huron County group since October 2006, after her daughter told her of the group. After joining, Cindy soon became the moderator for the group.

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“We’ve been doing voluntary recycling here – recycling and reusing equipment – since we opened last year. We manufacture our own computers from recycled materials. If there’s a monitor that comes in that’s still useable, we freecycle it – we give it away.”

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The spring cleaning season is a good time to explore the Freecycle web site which is moderated by REAPS in Prince George. The site at www.freecycle.org is an opportunity to post items no longer useful to yourself, but may be just what someone else needs. Jackie Rioux, an environmentally conscious resident, is hoping to promote awareness about the site, especially since the public swap sheds were closed last fall. She said as well as giving away many items like furniture, books and toys, she’s also claimed items like a hide-a-bed, toys and videos.

She added her daughter was able to find a washer-dryer set and a car to start out on her own.

As Valentine’s Day approaches I think of my loved ones. Advertisers are encouraging us to give them gifts.

If you truly love them you will give them the greatest gift of all - a happy and healthy future.

How can you do this you ask? You can learn about global warming and how it is changing the climate. In simple terms, we are polluting the planet beyond its ability to cope. Check www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas.

So what can an individual do?

Firstly remain hopeful.

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An up to date website containing information & events on Canada’s Waste Reduction Week 2007
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Recently, I joined a group through yahoo, freecycle. You join, offer a free item to begin and get cleaning your house, or as in my case, you clean your house then add more junk that you find on freecycle.

If you’re anything like me, I read the posted items and think, ‘gee, I could really use that’.
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