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Natural Awakenings National

Trash to Treasure: Freecycle Network Makes Sharing Fun

Five million Americans have joined more than 4,000 community groups around the globe to give and get good stuff for free from neighbors all around town. Reuse keeps it out of landfills, and everybody’s happy. It’s called freecycling, or freesharing, and easy to do at Freecycle.org.

“It’s a place to give or receive what you have and don’t need, or what you need and don’t have,” note members. “It makes it possible to clean out the garage without filling up a dumpster.” Members simply register their stuff on the Web, and neighbors they didn’t know they had, take it off their hands.

Membership is free. The only rules are that everything must be offered for free, and no illegal or adult-themed materials are allowed. The most popular items that folks browse listings for tend to be appliances, furniture and clothing.

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