Oliver Romain, 39, a company director from Wilmslow started Freecycle Wilmslow in June 2006, membership of which has now reached over 8000. Oliver describes it as "the 21st century equivalent of leaving an item outside your home with "free to a good home" on it".
Wilmslow Freecycle is an internet based local recycling group whose members can find or offer unwanted items that would otherwise be destined for the tip, meaning perfectly good items need not be thrown away. The group is run on a voluntary basis and is free to join and use. The main rule is that everything offered or wanted has to be free.
The Freecycle Network was established in Arizona in 2003 and the concept has now spread to over 85 countries, where thousands of local groups have been set up - representing millions of members worldwide and according to the founders it results in over 500 tons of waste a day being kept out of landfills.
When Oliver first started using freecycle, the nearest groups were Manchester, Stoke and Crewe, with nothing covering the local area so he joined the Stoke group. "I was refurbishing a commercial property in the area and it helped me avoid using a skip by offering the unwanted, but reusable, materials. However, I also wanted to use a group in my home town", explained Oliver.
Originally Wilmslow Freecycle extended beyond Wilmslow to cover Congleton, Macclesfield and Knutsford but in recent years local groups have subsequently been set up with the latest being Knutsford.
Over one thousand postings about wanted and offered items are posted on Wilmslow Freecycle every month, with postings about everything from builders rubble to bicycles and computers. The group is used by a wide variety of people for lots of different reasons.
Wilmslow Freecycle is for everyone who cares about the environment or hates waste. We have all stored items we no longer use on the basis that they might come in handy one day so here's a chance to recycle and de-clutter your home before Christmas without the need to leave your home. For further information visit www.wilmslowfreecycle.org.uk.
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Top Tip: if you are requesting something, say a bit more in your email than just "yes please". Say why you want it. Give your name. Tell the person offering the item where you live (roughly) and how soon you could pick up. If there is more than one person asking for it, it will increase your chances! :-)