By We're all familiar with the practice of recycling, but for many, the program stops with paper, plastic, metal, and glass. Yet in our increasingly cluttered world, with the focus on frugality, is there a better way to dispose of all of the stuff-from old clothes to books to cell phones to furniture-we don't use or need anyone?
Rob Walker, author of the book Buying In and the "Consumed" column for the New York Times Magazine, calls the question of how to get rid of the things we buy the act of "unconsumption." His blog explores novel means of recycling, re-using, or even throwing away our collective junk, and whether getting rid of stuff can possibly feel as good as getting it.
According to a column Walker wrote for the Times magazine last December, Americans are beginning to come down from their shopping high. A poll released by a nonprofit group called the Center for a New American Dream, 81 percent of those surveyed agreed that Americans are "too focused on shopping and spending" and 88 percent said our society is "too materialistic."
The traditional way to offload unwanted items is simply to take them to the nearest Good Will, Salvation Army, or other charity that accepts used goods, or to sell them on Craiglist. But some things, such as mattresses, can't be donated due to health concerns. This is what happened to Deron Beal back in 2003 when he tried to donate a bed to local thrift shops in Tucson, Arizona. Beal started a network of friends online and offered the bed, and Freecycle was born. The private, nonprofit web community boosts more than 5.7 million members in more than 85 countries with nearly 5,000 groups worldwide.
The concept behind Freecycle is simple. Group members post items online on a message board including a brief description, and where a prospective new owner can pick them up. It works best when members are geographically close; freecycling groups can be found at Recycling Group Finder or The Freecycle Network. Each group has its own rules, but basically, no alcohol, drugs, firearms, or "adult" items are accepted. Some of the most popular freecycled items include furniture, especially child-sized furniture; children's play equipment; clothing; and computers and other electronics. But Freecycle will even accept structures such as mobile homes, greenhouses, and sheds.
The U.K.'s equivalent of Freecycle is MySkip.com, launched in April 2008. MySkip is a secure, free website dedicated to the help consumers and organizations easily dispose of or find useful items that might otherwise end up in a landfill. Each year, U.K. households send 15.8 tonnes (U.K.) of rubbish to the country's 4,000 landfills.
MySkip's interactive website includes alerts notifying its users when items become available on the site, and a patented security systems that allows members to offer and take items in complete privacy. MySkip users can also access the site via their mobile phones. On March 3, 2009, MySkip hosted a 24-hour "Celebrity Throwaway" to encourage reuse as a sustainable alternative to recycling.
Everyday items donated by celebrities including Sheryl Crow, Ricky Gervias, and Gordon Ramsey were available for free every hour on the site. On March 4, the directors of MySkip Holdings PLC announced its intention to issue shares of the company to outside investors beginning on March 10 to allow user, green investors, and others to take part in the development of MySkip.com.
Even Facebook is getting into the act, announcing a new application called Facebook Marketplace with four actions users can take: Sell It, Sell It For a Cause; Give It Away; and Ask for It. Posted items can include a location, description, category, photo, and an explanation of why it's listed in the Marketplace. The application's developer, Oodle, reviews every post to check for inappropriate content or suspicious activity.
The integration of charitable causes gives users new ways to help raise money for organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund or Habitat for Humanity International, and causes are prominently displayed at the top right hand of the Marketplace page. Posted listings by Facebook members are visible to other members, but other users can remain anonymous. Certainly people are selling items to others, as they do on Craigslist, but the option to give used stuff a new home is always there.
Related Reading:
We The People
Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash
