There is a proverb that states “What one person may consider worthless could be highly prized or valued by someone else.” That sentiment is being proven in many communities around the world as the freecycling trend continues to expand and grow.
Freecycling follows the premise that a person’s trash can indeed be another’s treasure, and it took this concept into the virtual arena where it is fast becoming a trend in many local communities around the world. It is refreshing to see platforms such as Facebook, being used in this selfless way to build virtual communities within physically established ones. Since learning of this use of social platforms, I took time to explore the concept, its intent, and what benefits are to be gained from freely cycling through the things we have outgrown to make them readily available for others to grow into. My research revealed one thriving community after another built on core-value motivations.
Historically, we gravitated towards garage or rummage sales to search through all the displayed knick-knacks and haggle for best prices. Doing that always felt like a treasure hunt; especially when finding delightful things and getting them at unbelievably low prices. I remember one year getting an amazing BMX bike for $10. There was not even a scratch on the bike. Storing it had become a nuisance to the owners, and they wanted it in the hands of someone who could appreciate it, and more importantly, would use it. Now, that bike came into our possession at a cost, but the children had many great years riding it around the neighbourhood building treasured childhood memories. I believe we ended up giving that bike away to the grandson of a friend to carry on the memories, and this was done without awareness of freecycling.
In today’s world, garage or rummage sales seem to be a thing of the past. I have definitely noticed the decline. For sure, one reason can be attributed to the success of Craigslist and eBay (since 1995), Amazon Marketplace (since 2000), Kijiji (since 2005), and Facebook Marketplace (since 2015). However, freecycling is the other reason, and that begs the question — why? Well, to provide an answer, we first have to take a step back and look at how freecycling got started.
Then, in steps Deron Beal — who took notice of the amount of stuff being thrown away that in his mind was still useful. He decided to do something about it in 2003 by starting freecycle.org. If anyone is thinking “Why didn’t I think of that?” — don’t, because Beal was destined for this. I say that based on the added coincidence that in 2003 he was working in a not-for-profit organization that combined recycling with job training, which seems to have influenced his thinking around waste management. His first attempt at the network was giving away to people he knew. The technology he used — drum roll please — was a Yahoo email list. According to Marc Gunther of CNN Money from a 2007 article, local Arizona publicity advanced Beal’s email list from the high 2-digits, to the high 3-digits — a reported 800 names.
On The Freecycle Network website, they proudly proclaim themselves to be “…a grassroots & entirely nonprofit movement of people…” The network’s trademarked motto is “changing the world one gift at a time™” which they encapsulate as being “It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.” Having 9,695,716 members spread across 5,349 towns is a massive leap from the 800 names of its modest beginnings, and an even bigger leap in the number of stuff that gets given away on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. No wonder, the network is being seen as one of the most effective environmental groups around. The recurring movement of someone’s trash into another person’s treasure trove is keeping all the stuff we no longer want away from landfills in sufficiently significant numbers to be even more significantly and positively impactful to the environment.
Now, let’s understand how it really works. The network’s mission is stated as “Our mission is to build a worldwide sharing movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.” When browsing the site, I was pleased to see Toronto prominently called out. Joining the network is completely free. From there you align with local area groups that are moderated by volunteers. You browse what is available, submit your offer to acquire what is posted by others, or create your own posts to give something of yours away.
Here is the thing though. Freecycling has become a movement; meaning the phenomenon is occurring outside of the original network. In true grassroots fashion, other freecycle websites and networks have formed. Facebook groups are being used by many to foster localized communities. In aiming to understand the prevalence of localized freecycling groups, I chose a world renowned city — Mississauga, Ontario — that is home to over 700K people, and has several freecycling groups, all on the Facebook platform. The Original South Mississauga Freecycle (SMF), just celebrated its 5th year of existence having started in January 2017. SMF has accumulated an impressive 6.5K members and also hosts a sister group called Mid/North Mississauga Freecycle. The new kid on the block “If It’s Free – Mississauga” is an off-shoot of the very successful “If It’s Free- Oakville – they already have over 4.2K members and are going strong. According to SMF’s Lead Admin, Olga Gray, “Based on the current landfill capacity depletion rate, Ontario’s available landfill capacity is expected to be exhausted in 12 years, by the year 2032. Every item that is Freecycled, big or small, has a small positive impact on our environment.” Consider those environmental impact numbers spanning across the staggering number of towns and cities embracing this movement, and the positive implications are mind-blowing. Olga also called out the fact that “Members can also post an ISO (In Search Of) post if they are looking for something specific, and quite often their request is fulfilled very quickly by generous members of our community.” It is important to recognise that these generous members are selecting to give rather than sell what they have.
The community group I have had the pleasure to interact with was South Mississauga Free Exchange (SMFX) that has accumulated 3.7K members in the span of just over a year. In addition to the exchange of items amongst its members (what SMFX describes as “a constant balanced flow of give-and-take.”), the Founder, Christine Dore-Scaini, offers up a myriad of other enriching activities and events. In January 2022, Mental Health Wellness Week was offered and I was fortunate to participate as one of the many guest speakers on topics which included mindfulness exercises, yoga, meditation, mental health resources, stress relief through clay, coffee chats with other members and so much more…
Coming up in March in SMFX is a Spring Fling Event that is being promoted as “a great way to promote your business as well as helping out to shine a light on a loved business in our community.” I had the opportunity to reach out to Christine and here is how she describes what SMFX does: “Being that the group is on the cusp of its two year anniversay, I enjoy seeing the group taking on a life of its own as members are continuously helping members.” She then went on to say, “This group very much belongs to the community who participate with it. I’m just a guide keeping it positive and forward moving. Now that everything is running smoothly with the help of a number of like-minded volunteers, I can focus more on the special events that I enjoy creating.”
In preparing to do this article about what is essentially giving, I found delight and joy in the discoveries of what these wonderful Facebook Groups have to offer. If you are like me, used to the old-school methods of community exchange, with no inkling about the freecycle movement, then I hope you will be triggered to join in. If you are already deep into freecycling, then I commend you for the long-term impact on keeping useful items out of landfill and applaud your generosity to your fellow neighbours, of which I am certain some may be truly struggling to survive.
Dopamines are released when we are happy and feeling good. The act of giving makes people feel happy. Many studies over the years have shown this to be true, and we know it from the joy we experience when we are the givers. This may very well explain the attraction for freecycling and the choice of members to join in and to give. Freecycling provides people the opportunity to give on a perpetual basis, and that equates to a constant burst of the “feel good” hormones. The two-way exchange also evokes gratitude and establishes deep social bonds that are contagious. Hence, the rapid expansion of the movement within communities across the globe.
Living in a world where vane tweets or Tik-Tok postings go viral, wouldn’t it be wonderful to see Freecycle and Exchanges do the same?
