Another website called Freecycle.org lets you trade things for free. It’s an online message board that shows you what others in your community have, want and need. You set up a free account and let the trading begin!
So for Carrico, he says this is just the beginning of hunting down trash to turn into treasure.
People are finally starting to get a bit inventive about recycling, and some clever souls have realised that one way to do it is online. The result: www.freecycle.org
The US-based international site already has over 5,000 Kiwi members and the idea is that if you’ve got something that’s still okay but you don’t need it and would like to pass it on to a good home this is one way to go. Of course, it works the other way too.
A year after having first noticed the green ‘cyber’wave, months after informing the world about Global Internet giants going green and weeks after being appointed as the new Moderator of the Delhi Freecycle Network(TM) group, the green ‘cyber’wave just got stronger. And Yahoo! has taken the lead. Starting Earth Day, it is not just spreading the message, “Free is good - Give stuff, get stuff. Do good for the environment” through its green pages, but is also working to achieve the same.
Be a “Freecycler”
Freecycle.org, a membership organization with thousands of local chapters, helps people give away unwanted goods, such as brand-new baby clothes, computers and furniture, to other “freecyclers” so that it won’t end up in landfills. Most of the time, it’s not worn-out Salvation Army merchandise. Not long ago, the Boston chapter featured an entire Ethan Allen living room set free for the taking. You can “ask” for something specific, and often, you’ll get it.
It’s difficult to tell how much of a recycling market there will be for these old tellies, but Freecycle and the Community Recycling Network are good starting points. Of course, a broken or genuinely obsolete TV is little use to anyone and two million are discarded in the UK every year. A lot of electronic equipment contains toxic components that can be harmful to the environment, so the important thing is to dispose of it safely. Thanks to the EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronic (WEEE) directive, a “producer responsibility” measure, the obligation to recycle or dispose of electronic goods safely lies with the manufacturer or distributor.
7 Find freebies
Websites such as freecycle.org have created online communities that exchange or just give away unwanted goods – from dishwashers to CDs.
The site puts you in touch with people in your local area who want to give away items rather than dump them in landfills.
You have to sign up to one of over 4,300 communities around the world, but there are plenty in the UK. In London’s Hammer-smith and Fulham, for example, there are 4,799 active members giving away everything from bikes to greenhouses.
Another way to “go green” in Sangamon County is by joining the Springfield Freecycle Network, the largest reuse community in central Illinois.
It’s not a charity or a business. It’s an idea that perfectly good used stuff deserves a home other than the landfill. Instead of throwing out things like furniture, dishes, bikes and electronics, people give these items away for free to other people in their community who can use them.
Anyone with access to a computer can log on to www.freecycle.org and find a link to their local community Freecycle site. There are more than 4,300 Freecycle sites and nearly 5 million members worldwide. Illinois has 186 Freecycle sites, with many in central Illinois.
There’s even a website to assist in all of this: freecycle.org– sort of a craigslist for non-sexual things– that has as a mission to get people to think outside the box a little bit, and ask that if they don’t need something, maybe somebody else might. It’s worth checking out, and if you want a trailer, you may want to take a look at what TWGB has to offer, too.
Freecycle is an online group whose members offer free items they no longer want and can ask for anything they may be in need of.
Melanie Clevenger, a Freecycle moderator, said the group is a great resource for students.
According to the national Freecycle network Web site, www.freecycle.org, the group is “globally local,” and each city has volunteer moderators and a unique e-mail group. Anyone living in that city is then welcome to post items to be given away or to seek items which they might be able to use.
And so, in the spirit of EcoGeekiness, I hereby pledge to actually do something about it. This stuff has to go! It’s pretty easy to get rid of stuff nowadays…with EBay and Craigslist and Freecycle. But some of it might not be so easy to part with. So I am hereby beginning a series in which I will be replacing hardware either with multiple-use items (trading scissors for knives) or with software. And, hoorah! I will free myself of these earthly ties….and increase that beautiful spiritual connection I have with this machine before me.
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