Introduction

 

Freecycle, c'est quoi ?

Freecycle cherche à empêcher que des objets finissent à la poubelle, en fournissant un service de liste de diffusion par internet qui permet à celui qui veut se débarrasser d'un objet de le donner. Ainsi nous construisons un futur plus durable, préservons l'environnement, et créons des communautés locales et mondiale.

Freecycle (dont le nom officiel est The Freecycle Network, le réseau Freecycle) est constitué de milliers de groupes rassemblant des millions de membres dans le onde entier. C'est un mouvement populaire, à but non lucratif, de personnes qui donne et reçoivent des objets gratuitement. Chaque groupe Freecycle couvre une ville ou une zone, son action est donc à la fois locale et globale.

My.Freecycle, c'est quoi ?

My Freecycle est un site, géré par Freecycle, qui permet de fournir un service de liste de diffusion par internet afin que les membres puissent donner gratuitement des objets à d'autres membres. Certains groupes Freecycle sont encore des groupes Yahoo!, mais beaucoup ont migré sur ce site depuis sa création en juin 2009.

Si votre groupe local n'a pas encore migré, vous pouvez tout de même utiliser le site My.freecycle pour rédiger vos annonces OFFRE et CHERCHE sur votre groupe Freecycle chez Yahoo!, suivre vos annonces actives, et rédiger automatiquement un mail PARTI ou REÇU. Vous pouvez donc, au choix, continuer à poster directement sur le groupe Yahoo! ou utilise le site My Freecycle comme interface.

Comment cela a-t-il commencé ?

Freecycle a été lancé aux USA par Deron Beal en mai 2003, et le premier groupe britannique a été créé en octobre de la même année. Il compte maintenant plus de 9 millions de membres dans 110 pays.

Pour en savoir plus sur l'histoire de Freecycle, vous pouvez consulter cette page.

Que fait Freecycle ?

C'est simple : Freecycle évite à des objets de finir à la poubelle ou en déchetterie, grâce à des dons gratuits et sans condition.

Qui s'en occupe ?

Freecycle is run by volunteers and day-to-day decision making is made by grassroots local groups, encouraging local members to use their group sensibly and safely. Each group is run by a team of Moderators who check messages and help members. These are volunteers who give up time to help run groups - they're not paid.

Group moderators consult with other groups at a regional and national level with other support structures available nationally and internationally. Freecycle rules and guidelines are agreed to globally via national moderator groups.

If you want to find out more, click Organization.

Insert non-formatted text here= Where are the groups? =

The Freecycle Network consists of groups all over the world. Click on the map to find a group near you.

Some Freecycle groups still use Yahoo! Groups but most groups switched over to MyFreecycle after January 2009.

This website can be found here: My Freecycle.

What kind of things are on it?

Anything that is free, legal and appropriate for all ages. Examples include: washing machines, computers, baby clothes, jam-jars, carpet, plants, building supplies, etc…

Is it just about giving things away?

No, you can ask for things too. To work, Freecycle needs both OFFERs and WANTEDs.

Is there anything which isn't suitable?

• No pornography
• No alcohol
• No tobacco
• No drugs (of any kind, including all medicines, vitamins, creams, etc.)
• No firearms or other weapons

Are there any risks?

(US)

This Disclaimer is a REQUIREMENT to be sent out to new members and as a monthly reminder.

FREECYCLE™ MEMBERS USE FREECYCLE GROUPS AT THEIR OWN RISK. Please take reasonable measures to protect your safety and privacy when posting to group lists or when completing a direct gifting with another member. By joining a Freecycle list, you agree to hold neither list owners and moderators, nor anyone affiliated with The Freecycle Network responsible or liable for any circumstance resulting from a Freecycle-related gifting or communication.

(UK)

This Disclaimer is a REQUIREMENT to be sent out to new members and as a monthly reminder.

FREECYCLE NETWORK MEMBERS USE THE LIST AT THEIR OWN RISK. Please take reasonable measures to protect your safety and privacy when posting to the list or participating in an exchange. By joining the list, you agree to hold neither the list owners, moderators nor anyone affiliated with Freecycle.org responsible or liable for any circumstance resulting from a Freecycle‐related exchange or communication.

Copyright © 2003 The Freecycle Network http://www.freecycle.org All rights reserved ;Freecycle and the Freecycle logo are trademarks of The Freecycle Network, CTM Reg No 4287553 ;Freecycle UK is a Registered Charity (Number: 1118148) and is a Company Limited by Guarantee (Number: 05945013) Basically: use common sense, since you won't know the people you're dealing with personally. But most people using Freecycle find it works amazingly well.

Does it cost anything?

No, it's absolutely free. It's free to join, it's free to post messages, and everything offered on Freecycle must be free as well.

So how is it funded?

For most day to day activities, Freecycle doesn't have funding - Yahoo provides their service for free, and the groups are run by volunteers who give their time freely and aren't paid. Yahoo funds their groups by advertising - they make money when you click on their advertisements. That money doesn't reach Freecycle - it stays with Yahoo.

As a charitable organization, Freecycle welcomes funding in the form of grants, underwriting and donations from the general public. This can be for central efforts like the new website or for local activities. The new website, My Freecycle, also has advertisements (using Google Ads). Money from this does reach Freecycle, and helps cover the costs of hosting and developing that site.

Freecycle is also fortunate to receive some funding for group-specific and regionally specific projects. Grants awarded are used exclusively for the criteria specified in the individual applications.

Local Freecycle groups do not have formal committees or bank accounts. They are part of the overall Freecycle Network, represented throughout the globe.

What do the funds pay for?

The Freecycle Network's current annual budget is running at about $140,000 in income. The funding comes from corporate underwriting, on-site advertising (in the form of a Google sponsor bar), grants and individual donations. Approximately 90% of these funds are used directly for program expenses. The remaining 10% is split evenly between membership, fund-raising and other administrative expenses. Our IRS 990s are posted at the hotlink below as well as on Guidestar.com. We are delighted to report that we received our 501(c)3 status from the IRS (11/06) and that donations to The Freecycle Network are tax-deductible! We likewise are a charity in the UK. Further, we are registered as a nonprofit corporation in the State of Arizona. Tax deduct-ability is retroactive to our application date in July of 2004.

Our expenses of about $130,000 are mainly in the paying of four individuals and the maintenance of our current website and design of the new community. These individuals include the executive director, two contractors responsible for the current web community and one contractor for the new website design project. We have several servers to this end, coding expense and related site-design expenses. We also are incurring substantial legal expense, primarily in defending our trademark.

Our model is much like that of PBS. We seek to provide a free public forum for our members, and seek grants, underwriting and voluntary donations to fund these efforts. It's a rather unique model for a website, but The Freecycle Network is a unique organization. As we further develop community reuse and recycling on a globally local scale in over 70 countries we are creating a global gift economy in the process. Simply beautiful how one can change the world, one gift at a time.

IRS 990s

What's Freecycle UK's Legal Status?

See Legal Status.

Are all groups the same?

There are some basic rules and guidelines which are agreed to by all local groups. The main rule is that everything must be free, legal and appropriate for all ages with an emphasis on being nice, keeping safe and building a sustainable local and world community.

In addition to the basic required guidelines for all groups, each local Freecycle group may have some additional guidelines (example: the posting of pets or services rather than items). Group moderators will typically consult or poll members about proposed rule changes.

Ok, how do I sign up?

See How To Sign Up.

Now how do I use it?

See How To Use Freecycle