How would you like a free dishwasher? Or a dining room table and chairs? Maybe you're a budding musician who could give a piano a good home, or you're desperately in need of a king sized bed?
When you have something you no longer need... ... be it a sofa, a video recorder or an old bath - you simply register on one of the websites set up to recycle unwanted items and offer it to the people on that website. You get their responses and get to choose a new home for your old gear.
When you’re on the lookout for something, you can look at these sites and contact people for items you like the sound of, and if you’re lucky, you’ll be asked to go and pick it up for free.
There are clear rules: - everything must be free, legal and appropriate for all ages, and
- there are some good manners that need to be practised.
Apart from that, it’s about creating a community that wants to help each other while helping the environment. There are a number of websites set up to support the recycling of unwanted items. These include Don'tDumpThat , Freecycle and a brand new website Recycle.co.uk
Recycle.co.uk aims to reduce the amount of household items that end up in landfills every year, by offering a venue where people can give them away for free. It's often said that one man's junk is another man's treasure, and that's certainly true at Recycle.co.uk, where you'll find all manner of furniture, white goods, computer equipment and other items available to take home for absolutely nothing.
"The site is a little bit like eBay, in that people can list their unwanted items," explains site owner, Paul Lasikiewicz . "Of course, the big difference is that at Recycle.co.uk, you don't have to bid or pay for the items you're interested in. They're all available absolutely free but you have to be quick, and as it's free to list your items on the site too, it costs nothing to both help the environment and help other people who may be looking for exactly what you're about to throw away. It's particularly useful for people looking to get rid of larger items, which can't easily be posted, and which are difficult to sell."
Items are listed at Recycle.co.uk by area, so it's easy to see exactly what's available in your part of the country. When you find something you're interested in, simply click the "I'm interested" button to make contact with the seller and arrange to pick up the item. The site has already got off to a good start, with people immediately seeing the benefit of getting rid of their unwanted items (and perhaps finding themselves some free replacements!) and listing a wide range of goods, from fridges and washing machines to books and furniture.
Looking for a specific item? You can also post your request on the site's "items wanted" section, to allow those who can help you find that certain something to contact you directly.
Not only does the site help to protect our environment by cutting down on the number of perfectly good items that are thrown away, it also helps people to help each other in their local areas. "You could refurnish your house or flat, replace appliances that are past their best, or just treat yourself to something you've always wanted but have never been able to afford," says Paul Lasikiewicz. Best of all, you can do it all for free. As the saying goes at Recycle.co.uk – 'Don't Bin It – Recycle It'"
Visit www.recycle.co.uk to see what you can pick up for nothing today.
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