City Limits
Again & Again
There's a way to go green without buying a thing.
Everything from Halloween costumes to refrigerators were likely passed off for free in Columbus today via Freecycle, an online site that keeps items with life left in them out of landfills.
It's an online garage sale of sorts, where rules are simple: everything is free, and if you want it, you have to come and get it.
People join the message board for their area, which can be found through freecycle.org, and post things they're looking for or looking to give away. Freecycle has more than 3 million members around the world, divided by cities and regions.
The Columbus group has 10,000 members across all social strata, from "The Bottoms" to New Albany, Jenn M. said. Most members likely found out about the group through word of mouth since she founded it in 2003.
"I don't think I ever thought we would grow this much!" Jenn said.
Clothing and household appliances are most common, but occasional big-ticket items, such as vehicles, or obscure pieces surface. Broken items show up regularly for those interested in a science or craft project.
"We all have stuff we don't use but aren't sure what to do with, and we all have stuff we could use but for whatever reasons don't or can't go to the store and buy," Jenn said.
—Britanny Kress
October 18th, 2007
Copyright ? 2007 Columbus Alive, Inc. All rights reserved.
