FREECYCLE - NOT A LOAD OF RUBBISH

27-02-2007

The Stirrer recently praised Sandwell Council for the webcam at it's Shidas Lane Recycling Centre in Oldbury which prevents wasteful queuing - and slammed the dangerous congestion at Lifford Lane tip in Birmingham. Of course, it's far better if you can re-use your old stuff by simply giving it to someone who needs it. Let us introduce you to Birmingham Freecycle.

Freecycle is a very simple idea: if you've got something that you want to throw away - something that you'd otherwise take to the tip - why not offer it to someone else for free?

This means that not only do you avoid throwing away something someone else might get some use out of - but you also avoid yet more junk going into fast-disappearing landfill - AND you reduce energy use because there'll be one less consumer product to be made. Everyone's a winner!

And what's more - people who come and pick up the items you don't want think that you are doing them a favour by giving them the item - when in fact you are happy to get rid of it in an environmentally friendly way!

As the name suggests it's all free, and of course it is run from a website; the main global site is at www.freecycle.org and the Birmingham site is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/birmingham_freecycle/ There are now over 7,000 Brummies going a little greener by using Freecycle; why not be one of them?

Birmingham Freecycle was launched by James Robertson in 2004 and has to date saved over a thousand tons from landfill in Birmingham.

"We're talking to the council about publicity and funding" said James. "Every extra person we get to sign up means another ton of landfill avoided.

"There are moderators on duty every day to make sure there is some control - and if you join make sure you go for the 'daily digest' option that wraps up all emails per day into a single long one - otherwise you might be amazed at the sheer volume of stuff that Brummies are giving away and getting for free."