That helps explain why Earth Day has become so big again, why products are all going “green” and why freecycle.org, an Internet community bulletin board where members offer items for free, has grown in five years from a dozen members in Tucson, Ariz., to a network of over 3,000 cities in 80 countries.

Deron Beal, the site’s founder, counts 4 million members, and growing by 20,000 to 50,000 members each week.

“People have many reasons for freecycling,” said Beal. “But the biggest reason is environmental — reusing and recycling instead of helping create more waste.”

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FILL YOUR HOUSE WITH WHITE GOODS FOR FREE

Rather than buying a new fridge-freezer or sofa, look online for a serviceable second-hand model in your area.

According to Mark Dampier, from stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown, decent white goods and home furnishings are being given away at sites such as Freecycle (www.freecycle.org).

The website matches people who have things they want to get rid of with other people nearby who can use them. It’s cost-effective, and keeps usable items out of landfills. All you have to do is turn up and collect.

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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.

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I spent Sunday doing some work around the house. I pulled everything out of the closets and storage areas for a little reorganizing.

In the process, I came across things that I no longer want or need. I thought about donating them.

But then I had a better idea. I decided to list them on Freecycle. On Freecycle, you can exchange things you no longer want.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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