Listen now | 12 minutes, 58 seconds
The Freecycle Network is an grassroots nonprofit with almost 5 million members across the globe, who want to give a little and take a little, in an effort to keep good stuff out of landfills. How does it really work? Laurene shares her experiences getting (and not getting) what she wanted, and two of Freecycle's volunteer moderators help explain it all.
Published on April 16, 2008 at 10:39 a.m., as part of the The Little Green People Show.
Takia commented, on April 17, 2008 at 7:43 a.m.:
I thought this was going to be a show for "little people." However I am not so disappointed by the fact that this show is for us. It has seemed to me that my neices and nephews have more ecological consciousness than my siblings. I find this to be an embarrasment to my generation and will forward the pod cast to my friends and family.
Laura commented, on April 21, 2008 at 8:46 a.m.:
I L-O-V-E FreeCycle so much that I included them in my book 50 Simple Ways to Eat Well for Less and mention them every time I deliver a Lunch-N-Learn talk at companies!
Laura Bruzas
Healthy Dining Chicago
http://www.HealthyDining.org
Jill commented, on April 21, 2008 at 9:10 p.m.:
We're big fans of FreeCycle, too. Glad to hear about your book..
The name "Little Green People" means us green-living earthlings. We find most kids are interested in nature and the environment already -- it's adults who have to wrestle with some really hard decisions.
So the show is meant to help and inspire grown-ups who are busy with many different things, but still want to live as green as possible. What to spend time on? What maybe doesn't have as big of an impact on the environment, and therefore maybe you can skip? How does one go about making these steps?
Thanks for spreading the word about the show to young and old!
laurene commented, on April 21, 2008 at 9:32 p.m.:
Thanks for the great comments. I guess the name would make one think its a children's show. How does Big Green People sound?
Freeycle rocks.
Thanks for passing on the word to friends and family. I wonder if we don't give kids too much responsibility for issues that adults should be tackling anyway.
Amy commented, on April 21, 2008 at 11:51 p.m.:
Wow, I was just going through my spring cleaning rite.
I hate those Ikea ads where sad-looking lamps were left out on the street in the rain. I think we are guardians for all the stuff we acquire or that comes into our lives and need to try to handle their future responsibly. They tend to outsurvive us -- be it in others' homes or landfill.
In addition to Freecycle, I use Craigslist, EBay, Bottomless Closet, Brown Elephant, consignment shops, and donation where appropriate to not-for-profits (art supplies to art schools, etc). And many others...and yes CFLs, yes rechargeable batteries, yes power strips I can turn off, yes unplugging all electrical stuff... and on and on... I don't tend to buy new -- I'm a thrift store, house sale, family hand-me-downs, estate sale, student art sale kind of furnisher -- love the challenge of creating a home from found stuff.
I recently sent many years of old Turbo Tax discs in the mail to a free CD recycling center I found by googling "CD recycling".
But, I sure wish there were a centrally-located, visible, urban composting center, conveniently located, perhaps alongside a Green Market, hint hint, say Lincoln Parkish, where we could drop off our recyclables. Maybe have educators use it to educate children about composting???
I'd love to compost, but less than 500 sq. feet plus cats makes space (and smell) a problem for me.
At the Union Square Green Market in NYC, there's a group that composts and gives free compost to anyone who wants it. I used to drop off coffee grounds, eggshells, vegetable waste, my orange peels from juicing, spoiled produce from ambitious overbuying, etc. every week when I went to market. I loved being a part of that and miss it here in Chicago.
I also miss recycling that seems to work for multi-unit buildings, but that's another story...
We have work to do! Awareness is everything!
And I'm going to ask for a report from my building's waste hauler about our actual recycling rates -- we need to do more there.
Amy commented, on April 22, 2008 at 12:35 a.m.:
Shoot, I meant to venture another opinion, and that's about your name. I'm sure you guys love love love it, but I'm not sure "Little Green People" serves you, the cause, or your target market as well as it could.
I'm not a little, nor green (in color) person. Your name makes me think of leprechauns, which I hate (Lucky Charms --UGH) of which I know a little, since I'm Irish on both sides.
I think I'm in your urban demographic, maybe -- environmentally interested, and trying to make a difference, and mid 40's, although by virtue of being single and unmarried, attitudinally mid 30's.
If I were blind sent something about little green people, I'd be put off. I did send this to several friends, but haven't checked yet how they react. I can, certainly.
I'd almost rather see something Redmoonish -- invested with fantasy and wish, or a sense of the future, of mystery, of discovery, rather than "little ... people" which only seems to remind me, unfairly, either of Sesame Street or Randy Newman. And little is demeaning. Maybe you're under-estimating people's willingness to deal with harder stuff? Or people's willingness to be more challenged?
Chicago Greens -- Chicago's Greening -- Green Chicago -- Dialogue Green Chicago -- The Nature Museum on Topics in Greening...Nature Museum: Going Green -- more possible of course -- focus group would be helpful and possibly very worthwhile.
"Little green people" I think does diminish your adult audiences and the discussion, without meaning to. I think we're beyond cute (alas, I am).
I'm one very opinionated reader. But I think "little" might in fact mislead your audience who comes to you for child-related programs.
Jill commented, on April 25, 2008 at 10:06 a.m.:
There is an enormous blue recycling bin in Lincoln Park. It's in the turn-around in front of the Nature Museum at 2430 N. Cannon Drive. It takes just about everything imaginable EXCEPT compost. It even recycles lots of plastics that Chicagoans never could recycle before.(Numbers one through five, and number seven.) Junk mail, paperback books, glass, metal, all the usual suspects-- it all goes in there.
As for compost, the Nature Museum is opening up a "compost corral" this spring with lots of different kinds of bins available to look at. It's not impossible that you could bring small amounts of compost to the museum to recycle like you did at the Union Square green market--I'm not quite sure how it will work yet. Will keep you posted on that.
Also, the next Little Green People show is on compost, so stay tuned!
Jerry commented, on May 8, 2008 at 10:25 a.m.:
I learned a great deal from this show about freecycle that I did not know. I will use this site in the future to give away unwanted items. I also think that the name'little people" should be rethought so that it is directed toward adults that can effect our habits of buying and giving. I enjoyed the format of this blog and I will listen to it again.