Decluttering in #rdg? Try freegle: @ReadingFreegle

I was chatting to +David Freegle (the administrator of the Reading Freegle) yesterday about the huge increase in traffic on the freegle website following the story in the Daily Mail (not my usual paper of choice I admit).  Just in Reading alone they have got 200 new members!

He asked if I’d put some publicity up on my blog, which has admittedly a much more select audience, but still every little bit of publicity helps, so here it is.  I can personally vouch for both the main freegle and the cafe as really useful.  Link is here  http://freegle.in/ReadingFreegleUK press release below:

There’s no need to throw away unwanted Christmas presents or household clutter. It’s easy to give
away goods to locals who can make use of them. Freegle allows members to post pictures and
descriptions of anything (legal) they want to give away and puts them in touch with people locally
who may want it.

It’s like online dating for stuff. Got an unloved thingamyjig, find someone who will love that gizmo
or whatchamacallit. Freegle has about 1.4million members across the UK in over 360 locations doing
just that.

Cat Fletcher, one of the charity’s national representatives, said: “If you can’t use something there’s
bound to be someone in your area who can. We provide an easy to use platform to connect up people
and things. Everything is free and all our groups are looked after by local volunteers.”

“People even want broken things. There are lots of community groups and other people who are really
happy to get a broken toaster or worn out arm chair because they like repairing things or want to teach
others those skills. There’s a real groundswell of people in all communities who want to fix things.”

Goods that are beyond their original purpose can also be turned into something new, this is called
upcycling. For example, old washing machine drums can make attractive lamps and table bases.
Old house windows can make great greenhouses for the garden. Extending the life of goods is really
important. Reuse is more environmentally friendly than recycling which breaks material down into
elements and uses masses of energy and transport to do so. 83% of sofas discarded at UK “tips” are
reusable. Freegle provides a way to avoid this kind of shocking waste and facilitates the free reuse of
about 500 tonnes of goods every month.

She said: “Western society has 12 per cent of the world’s population but consumes 60 per cent of
its resources. Research by Yale says we’re going to run out of raw materials within 50 to 60 years
if we carry on at the current level of consumption.” Reusing and sharing what we already have
across communities also enables the economically challenged to have goods that would otherwise be
unobtainable but are essential to maintaining a decent standard of living. Charities, families, students,
businesses, schools and all types of activity and community groups are all welcome to join their local
Freegle group and start exchanging goods amongst themselves

It’s a great time of year to start freegling, January is a time when people often have a clear out or are
experiencing financial hardship. Sharing stuff on Freegle – instead of putting it in a rubbish sack or
popping to the tip or relegating it to the attic – is beneficial to people, pocket and planet.

Don’t throw it away. Give it away!

Visit www.ilovefreegle.org and enter your postcode to find a Freegle group in your area.

http://www.facebook.com/Freegle
http://twitter.com/thisisfreegle
All media enquiries: Cat Fletcher media@ilovefreegle.org 07962449573
General enquiries: info@ilovefreegle.org
Freegle logos to download: http://wiki.ilovefreegle.org/Logos

Local Freegle group: http://freegle.in/ReadingFreegleUK