The Freecycle Network facts for kids
The Freecycle Network logo
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| Abbreviation | TFN |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1 May 2003 |
| Legal status | 501(c)3 |
| Purpose | Reuse |
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Region served
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121 countries |
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Membership
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6,880,991 |
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Founder, executive director
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Deron Beal |
| Website | www.freecycle.org |
The Freecycle Network (TFN) is a special group that helps people give away things they no longer need. It is a nonprofit organization. This means it does not try to make money. It is registered in Arizona, USA, and is also a charity in the United Kingdom.
Freecycle helps keep useful items out of landfills. Landfills are places where trash is buried. Instead, items are given away for free. This helps people reuse things. It also helps the planet by reducing waste.
The network has an online system. It helps people find local groups. In these groups, people can offer items for free. They can also ask for items they need. This idea is part of a "gift economy". This means people share things without buying or selling them. It is different from flea markets or swap meets. Those places usually involve buying, selling, or trading. Freecycle is all about giving and receiving for free.
How Freecycle Started
The Freecycle Network began with a person named Deron Beal. He worked with a small group called RISE. RISE was a nonprofit that helped with recycling in Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Deron and RISE wanted to find other nonprofits. They hoped these groups could use items that were being recycled. But this idea did not work very well. So, Deron created the first Freecycle email. This email let people online connect and share items for recycling.
In February 2005, Freecycle got some money. It received $130,000 from a company called Waste Management. This money helped them build their website. It also helped the network grow bigger.
Over time, the idea of Freecycle spread. It is now in over 110 countries. There are thousands of local groups. Millions of people are part of the network.
How Freecycle Works
Freecycle started as groups on Yahoo! Groups. These groups were linked from the freecycle.org website. Now, it is a big online community. All the groups are on freecycle.org. Local volunteers manage these groups.
The Freecycle Network helps new groups start. These new groups need to be approved. Once approved, they can use the Freecycle name and logo. They also follow rules set by the network. These rules are kept by volunteers around the world.
Since 2009, all new groups join freecycle.org's system. This system gives special tools to the local volunteers. It also helps Freecycle oversee all the groups. By 2015, all local groups were listed on the freecycle.org website.
Joining Freecycle
Joining Freecycle is completely free for everyone. Everything posted on the website must also be free. It must be legal and suitable for all ages.
Today, Freecycle is a global group. It has over 4,000 local chapters. In February 2006, they had over two million members. By February 2014, there were almost 7 million members. These members were in over 5,120 groups worldwide. In December 2023, Freecycle had over 11 million members. They were part of 5,355 groups around the world.
See also
In Spanish: Freecycle para niños
