How Freecycling Helps the Environment Articles | Environment

Freecycling is the act of giving away an item that is no longer needed or used to another person as opposed to placing the item into a landfill. This is also known as free recycling. This new trend in recycling is taking off in cities and states across the country. Neighborhoods are utilizing this effort as a way to reduce waste and reuse resources by helping each other out. Anything of value that is not needed or wanted any longer can be given to someone who has a need for that particular item.

The rules of freecycling are simple: nothing obscene or illegal may be given away. Likewise, there can not be a price charged for the item given away. Payment transactions include bartering or trading for cash or money exchanging hands in the process. Freecycling can include a big item such as a car or a small item such as a pencil. As long as the rules apply to the process, freecycling is being performed.

The driving force behind freecycling is reducing the amount of trash that lines city streets and overfills landfills. Many cities maintain a freecycle website. Here users can log on and post bulletins about items they are looking to dispose of. Similarly, users can also find information on a particular item of interest. The two individuals with the desired items then meet and the exchange is made. The first freecycle network got its start in Tucson, Arizona back in 2003. Since then, freecycle clubs are popping up across the country like wildfire.

Some of the more interesting items given away in a freecycling program have included a fish tank, six cans of orange spray paint and a pair of guinea pigs. Larger items include a refrigerator and a community college in one city receiving 18 computers for a computer lab.