Blog Why not Freecycle it?
April 29th, 2008
Freecycle has been around for a number of years now, but still I am amazed at the amount of people I talk to that haven’t heard of it. It’s one of those 21st century ideas that sounds good in theory, but impressively, in practice it also works pretty darn well. A very rare bird indeed. The basic principle is this. You have something you don’t want anymore, instead of throwing it out, to become more landfill and waste, you list it on the freecycle group in your area, and someone, or even many people will email you to let you know that they want the said item, and when they can come and pick it up. It’s a gift economy concept, there is no trading or barter that goes on. It’s a bit tricky when you list something that lots of people want. Then you just have to work it out for yourself who you think should get it. I generally go on who can pick it up the soonest, or who needs it the most (but watch out for sob stories).
So far I have given away a queen size bed, many little odd things that were unwanted gifts, and a freezer. I have received, 50 jazz and classical cassettes, a Yamaha DX9, some computer speakers and cd cases. All very useful in my line of work. In my opinion this model of gifting works pretty well.
From the website:
Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.
Why not check it out and get onto your local freecycle. Theres four of them in Sydney alone.
