The Ethics of FreecycleIf you are not familiar with it, let me introduce Freecycle. It is a method of disposing of unwanted gear that is either not saleable or you can’t be bothered to try and get money for. The principle is quite straight forward—one member offers something, other members take up that offer and arrange to collect the goods. As it says in their introduction, “It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.” The types of things that are offered vary from old mowers, computers, hi-fi and household goods right down to one I saw yesterday which was two boxes of cereal which they discovered no one in the family liked.
Some local admins, however, have been suggesting that you shouldn’t take up the first offers but wait and pick what seems to you to be the most deserving cause. This has come about as a result of complaints that people are picking up stuff for free and then selling it on by local ads or eBay and making a profit out of the system. There is certainly evidence that some people will bid for anything that looks like it is worth a bob or two.
My reaction is “good for them.” If I can’t be bothered to sell the stuff then why shouldn’t they. I have achieved my objective and got rid of it. It doesn’t end up on the city dump and someone else is using it, whether they had to pay for it or not. These people are filling the vacant role of the rag-and-bone man. I have been disposing of some potentially quite high value stuff but which is not easy to sell—vintage hi-fi and computer gear. This generally attracts a lot of bidders and my only criteria is that if you bid quickly then you must collect quickly, or at least confirm a collection date. If I don’t get a confirmation response within 24 hours then I move down the list.
If your objective is charity then I suggest you give your goods to a charity shop, if they will take it. But Freecycle is not about that, it is only concerned with re-cycling.
Webmaster