Antonio D'Aquilio
I wanted to introduce to you this recent trend on the sustainable reuse of materials and products. It is called “Freecycling” and it is awesome!
The idea is very simple. Freecycling is when a person passes an item that does not need anymore to another person that needs it. (Freecycle.net) From old electronic devices to clothes, freecycling is a way more sustainable practice than throwing away our items. It is even a more sustainable practice than recycling.
It has at least 2 main good points of sustainability: it prevents not only these items to be landfilled but also it helps people that are in need of specific items. It also cuts down the need for manufacturing the items that are donated.
In the last few years new platforms for making this new sustainable concept have been popping out. Worldwide, thousands of groups are already working to make this happen. On the website “TrashNothing.com” (TrashNoting.com), you are able to find the groups in your city or the closest ones.
Even for a small municipality like Texel, it would a great idea to create a community online to share old items. It would cut down the amount of items and materials that would otherwise be incinerated or landfilled. Before throwing away stuff Texel people could create a post on this platform and before buying something they could look if someone’s posted the item you are in need of.
Bibliography:
Freecycle.net, consulted on December 21, 2014, http://www.freecycle.net/
Trash Nothing!, consulted on December 21, 2014, http://www.freecycle.net/