Students desperate to get rid of bulky carpets or kitschy lamps taking up too much space in their dorms may not realize that the Wesleyan Recycling Committee’s Freecycle Program is here to help them, and has recently expanded to include a new convenient online listserv.
The Freecycle Program launched last May, with large storage receptacles distributed in high-traffic areas around campus. Students had the opportunity to place unwanted items in the receptacles, or pods, when leaving campus at the end of the 2006 spring semester. Now, with the new listserv, students, faculty and staff can sign up and post messages about items they no longer need or want, and would like to donate or trade to others.
Any item can be placed on the list, including clothing, electronics, and furniture. However, no one can demand any monetary compensation for the items up for trade.
Members of the Environmental Organizers’ Network (EON) expressed strong support behind the program they helped launch.
“It’s a great idea because things that would normally be thrown away can be claimed and used by another person,” said Zack Frosch ’08. “Things so far have ranged from a computer monitor to notepads.”
EON member Amanda Hungerford ’07 had similar praise.
“I think this program is great, and I wish we had more things like it,” Hungerford said. “While recycling is a great thing to do, it still uses energy. Re-using, on the other hand, has it all. It uses no energy, except for maybe the energy it takes you to walk across campus to give your stuff to another person.”
The EON-sponsored program is one of the many freecycling communities across the country. Leslie Starr, assistant director and marketing manager of the Wesleyan University Press, said that she participates in a similar Freecycle listserv in Middletown, where dozens of posts are made each day.
Starr has donated a variety of items, including knitting yarn that she no longer needed, which was then used to make hats for hospitalized children. She said that her positive past experiences with freecycling has left her enthusiastic about the University’s new listserv.
“It’s not a new idea,” Starr said. “You just get a bunch of people on a list and can give away or ask for whatever you want.”
Despite enthusiasm from EON and staff members, however, the Freecycle Program has been slow to catch on among students.
“I haven’t seen very many posts,” Starr said. “Obviously this works better the bigger the list is. It’s a matter of really publicizing it.”
Starr said that she believes the program has not grown substantially because many students are unaware of it, not that they are uninterested. Ultimately, she said, to be effective the listserv must be used by a greater number of people.
“The list just needs to be used more.” Starr said. “However, you have to proactively sign up for it.”
Hungerford summed up the advantages of the listserv.
“It cuts down on waste, and, for the receiver, it means getting cool new stuff for free,” she said.
Students interested in partaking in the Freecycle Program may e-mail lyris@lyris.wesleyan.edu with a blank subject line and “Join freecycle” written in the body. They will receive a confirmation e-mail, after which they may begin to post and receive messages on the listserv.
Leave a Reply