This week, I discovered Freecycle.org. It is an online clearinghouse for free stuff. Here you can post both offers of items you no longer want and requests for items you currently need. No money exchanges hands.
Freecycle was born in 2003, the idea of Deron Beal from Tucson, Ariz. Working with a nonprofit recycling service, he was dismayed to see the number of useable things tossed away. He rescued what he could and used the internet to advertise his finds. He essentially created a matchmaking site for goods instead of people.
Since then, Freecycle has sprouted thousands of local groups, with a member total in the millions. By promoting reuse, they pert 500 tons daily from landfills. The Concord group has 3,608 members. When I poked around for the first time the other day, I saw a wide range of offerings – from clothing and a gumball machine, to puzzles and fabric. Examples of items needed were closet doors, a sewing machine table and medical coding books.
I could have really used this site a year ago when I was moving and trying to find homes for a variety of things. At least I can pass the word so more people can take advantage of a valuable service. Freecycle's mission statement says it all: ” Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources and eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.”
The Recyclinator
