Freecycle: a social network changing the face of recycling

Can social networks be utilized to help tackle environmental problems across the world? Freecycle appears to be doing just that. In the midst of a global economic crisis, when people are looking for ways to be more frugal, Freecycle is using the web to help millions of people go green and save money too.

Freecycle is a nonprofit movement composed of 4,618 groups and nearly 6 million members globally. What makes this nonprofit unique is that members are giving and getting stuff for free in their own towns thanks to the web. Their grassroots theme is that “it’s all about reusing and keeping good stuff out of landfills.”

Founded in 2003 by Deron Beal, Freecycle’s launch was all about finding a way to get rid of furniture and household junk collected during a local recycling effort. Beal’s initial e-mail went out to only about 30 friends, but from there a site was created and the popularity of the Freecycle idea exploded exponentially.

Today, as a member of your local area’s group, you can start posting and responding to messages listed. The three common phrases are: “wanted,” “offer” and “taken.” These simple messages, accompanied by a short description, allow members to easily navigate through the postings on the message board.

Currently a part of Yahoo Groups, Freecycle does not yet collect any advertising revenue. However, that may change in the near future. They intend to create their own site where members can post by category, enable posts by radius and distance within groups, and provide other tools specific to both members and local volunteer moderators. As Freecycle progresses to have their own web presence outside of Yahoo, they may opt to sell Google ads to generate income.

Regardless, with a simple mission to “get online and give away something you are likely to otherwise throw away,” Freecycle is showing the world that social networks can help tackle environmental problems locally and globally.