The Freecycle Network (freecycle.org) keeps 500 tons out of landfill every day

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and so it remains true in the case of an on-line reuse network called The Freecycle Network™ (TFN), a now global phenomenon boasting thousands of groups and millions of members.

In 2003, TFN founder Deron Beal, sent out the first email announcing The Freecycle Network to about 30 or 40 friends and a handful of nonprofits in Tucson, Arizona.

There hadn't previously been an effective way to communicate about unwanted items with residents within an area, to see if they could reuse the item; this need was about to be filled and it was going to become known as Freecycle.

Email groups were set-up to allow fast and easy posting of item descriptions and the subsequent reply from would-be re-homers; the item could simply be passed on and never had to end up in the landfill.

What was critical about this process, and remains true to this day, everything posted is completely and utterly...free.

The Freecycle concept has since spread to over 85 countries, where there are thousands of local groups representing millions of members.  People helping people and "changing the world one gift at a time."

Through the efforts of this organization, Freecycle keeps over 500 tons a day out of landfills!  This amounts to five times the height of Mt. Everest in the past year alone, when stacked in garbage trucks!

By giving freely with no strings attached, members of The Freecycle Network help instill a sense of generosity of spirit as they strengthen local community ties and promote environmental sustainability and reuse. People from all walks of life have joined together to turn trash into treasure.

Each group is supported and operated by a local moderator (or maybe more than one, depending on the group size), they're always on hand to answer any questions and they're in your community to help drive the group.

Basically, here's how it works -

1. You find your local group by visiting freecycle.org
2. You post details about the item you don't need/want anymore
3. Your post is sent out to all subscribers in your town/city
4. Interested members reply to you advising that they'd like your item
5. You pick a recipient, arrange a meet and give them the item

There you have it, you just saved something from the landfill and you helped out a neighbor.  How easy (and pretty cool) was that?

The Freecycle Network is a growing movement, as more people find out about this amazing idea, more stuff becomes available, more people join the groups and so more and more and more, is saved from the landfill.  That's something we can all feel pretty good about.

You can follow Freecycle on Twitter, Google+ or find them on Facebook.  Their website provides a portal to all global groups and TFN are currently in the process of completing the build of their own platform dubbed MyFreeycycle which allows members to have access to even more functions and facilitate a better experience for members.