Freecycle: An Online Trading Post for Unwanted Stuff

If one man’s trash is another man’s treasure than the 1,400 members of the Norcross/Berkeley Lake freecycle group are savvy treasure hunters.

Freecycle, a world-wide group dedicated to giving away unwanted items to other freecycle members rather than adding to the global trash epidemic, started in 2003 by Devon Beal in Tucson, Arizona. Currently there are 8,193,125 global members broken into 4,926 different geographic groups with the Norcross freecycle group numbering among them.

In 2006, Penny Duncan was a member of the Gwinnett Freecycle Group. However, Duncan thought the group had grown too large in number and in area. In December of that year she founded the Norcross/Berkley Lake branch of Freecycle.

The members communicate with each other via a Yahoo Group Forum with members posting what they have to freecycle, what they would like to receive and thanks to other members for picking up freecycled items.

Duncan is adamant that Freecycle is not a charity. The group doesn’t allow members to post “sob stories” or use guilt to pressure someone into offering something they don’t feel comfortable offering.

Rather, it is a group that wants to see older, disused, broken or even brand new items go to people who want them without the use of a middle man. Currently on the Norcross/Berkley Lake Freecycle Forum members are offering upright freezers, kitchen dishes, dining chairs and lighting fixtures, all for free.

Dana Gemer has been a member of Freecycle for four years and says, “I absolutely love the freecycle concept," said Gemer. "It’s an easy way to de-clutter and get rid of things you don't need and at the same time keep trash out of our landfills.

"I also love that I can give stuff away I no longer need to someone who is in need like baby items to a new single mom or pet items to someone who volunteers at an animal shelter.”

Gemer says she has freecycled lawn mowers, computer monitors and countless magazines. In return she has received dishes, a patio umbrella and small appliances.  There are certain items that cannot be freecycled though, including pets, personal care items and medications.

For those who may be wary about having strangers turn up at your home, Duncan says that there are safety protocols for Freecycle including never posting your phone number or address to the open forum and being able to pick and choose who receives your items. If members are busy or would rather not speak to recipients of their freecycles, members just leave their items outside their house for pickup.

According Freecycle.org the movement keeps 500 tons of would-be garbage out of landfills per day. In doing so, they have combined a passion for environmentalism with a love of community.