Freecycle is an online community where eco-friendly citizens recycle their unwanted items by giving them away to others - FREE .
The Freecycle Network is made up of 4,841 groups with 7,546,508 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving and getting stuff for free in their own towns and thus keeping good stuff out of landfills.
In addition to keeping things from landfills, a large part of Freecycle's goal is to build local communities of neighbors helping neighbours.
All groups are run by volunteer moderators who help keep offers organized and members informed in addition to previewing posts of new members and generally keeping chaos at bay.
Freecycle groups don't allow any trades, and no money can change hands. Even offers of non-consumables like coupons or g-mail are "no nos". Instead the group is actively just outright engaged in everyday "gifting". They don't emphasize themselves as a "place to get free stuff" but have a vital membership that is busily making "offers". There are some rules to keep everything clean and easy to use .
People have offered everything from unused waffles irons and a daybed outgrown by a teen aged daughter to a push mower and bird bath for a small townhouse yard.
Some examples or say items that have passed on via Freecycle Groups are as follows :
Paper and other office supplies , clothing no longer usable because of weight gains and losses , discarded boots & bowling ball now set aside for an artist to use for creation of mixed media art , booties, bottles and bibs from that last family baby , empty jars and bottles.
Refrigerators, microwaves and washers are replaced and thanks to freecycle the used one is no longer sent to the landfill, but is freecycled to another loving home.
It's not so much about the quality or value of the items , but is about the value to the person who is the recipient.
Good candidates to freecycle are ; Empty nesters the Environmentally conscious
Parents of growing kids , Amateur athletes , Techno-whizzes who are constantly replacing their hardware , Business owners , Office Managers , Newly single folks , Crafters , Realtors , New folks in town , Students , Adults combining households , Collectors , Apartment and Condo managers , People preparing to retire , Decorators & designers , Teachers , Grandparents And in essence everyone !
The Advantage of Freecycle
The advantage of Freecycle is that we get to help the enviroment by reducing the stuff that factories burn which is trash.
There are green organizations like FreeCycle.org that encourage people to re-use discarded items that still have 'life' in them, like washing machines, tumble dryers, refrigerators, etc. discarded before their time is up ! For example, they are replaced because they look old , a bit like older workers in high-tech companies lol.
FreeCycle and similar organizations want to save rural landscapes from being taken over by landfills. So an advantage is that we dont need to pay to have it taken away.
Another advantage is Lower demand for primary resources, ie. less mining / forestry & lower demand for landfill space . With lower demand, the supply lasts longer, and is more equitable to future generations.
How to Report Misuse to Freecycle
Problems with people abusing or misusing Freecycle are few and far between. Most people who belong to the group respect the rules established without the need for any feedback or control. From time to time, though, it's possible to come across individuals who have crossed the line and should be reported in order to preserve the peace in the group.
Establish whether the problem is misuse of Freecycle due to lack of knowledge of the group's rules and etiquette or if it constitutes a malicious attack. A person who posts a giveaway of over the counter medicine is breaking the rules but may not be aware of it, which is why Freecycle operates on a two-strike rule .
Contact your moderator If you feel personally attacked or received some kind of personal communication you did not authorize or approve of, let your moderator know so he can take charge of the situation.
Report misuse of Freecycle even if the problem occurred outside the group itself.
For example: if a person posts a couch for giveaway, but when you arrive to pick it up he asks for money or puts certain conditions before releasing the item. This is against Freecycle rules and merits a report.
Inform the person directly that he is in violation of Freecycle rules before you report him. Certain rules vary from group to group and a person moving from a different group may not be aware of the difference. Remember to be polite rather than accusatory.
Let the moderator handle it the problems created by fellow members or say mis use of Freecycle network . As tempted as you may be to go against a person breaking the rules or misusing the group for their own benefit, just make a report and then step back. Battling it out with other group members can do more harm than good and will usually not resolve anything.
Tags :- Freecycle , Freecycle Groups , Freecycle Network , Freecycle rules , Freecycle advantages , Freecycle websites
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