Hidden treasures of junk

The next time you do a massive clean-up, don't send your surplus stuff off to the local landfill. Garbage heaps are already brimming with old computers, boxy TVs, and rickety couches. Freecycle your unwanted treasures!

Recycling is practically a given these days, and now freecycling is becoming de rigueur for anti-consumerists and environmentalists alike. Seeing a need to minimize the use of landfills, and following the old adage that "one person's trash is another person's treasure," Deron Beal developed Freecycle.org as a Match.com for people's stuff. Since the site burst onto the scene in 2003, a network of local groups and clones have blossomed worldwide, leaving no love seat unloved.

People freecycle for a variety of reasons. For some it's a statement against overconsumption. For others it's a way to eat cheaply or get free materials for art projects. But the primary motivation is separating good junk from garbage and keeping useful things out of landfills. So don't kick those old appliances or castoff clothes to the curb -- pass them along to someone who wants them.

• Freecycle - a grassroots, nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free.
• FreeSharing - go beyond recycling ... give away your stuff.
• Waste Not, Want Not - looks at new ways to reduce the things going into landfills.
• Craigslist - lots of free stuff here.
• The Recycler's Exchange - more ways to recycle.

Directory categories: Freecycling, Materials Exchange, Dumpster Diving, Recycling, Free Stuff

Originally posted on The Spark, a daily blog where Yahoo! Directory editors highlight new and interesting content on the Web.