Columbia Freecycle: 15 years old and still operating

 

    In 2004 I learned of a program called Freecycle that provided neighborhoods with a way to reuse items that you would only throw away.  I thought the idea was a good way to stop taking items to the landfill and provide others with items I no longer used.  Setting up the Columbia Freecycle 15 years ago I wasn't sure how the idea would catch on but was pleasantly surprised that by word of mouth the site had over 100 users the first month and over 1000 items were freecycled.  At its height the site grew to over 6000 members and now stands at just under 5000.  It is hard to estimate the number of items freecycled but I wouldn't be surprised that it is over a million items.  Not bad for a simple beginning.

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