August 12, 2004
Thursday

Ketchikan, Alaska - Based on the old adage that "one person's trash is another person's treasure", the newly organized Ketchikan Freecycle Network's goal is to slow the flow of trash into our landfills by connecting people who want to get rid of old "stuff" with those frugal people looking for free "stuff". Ketchikan resident Shana Nielsen established Ketchikan Freecycle in July 2004.

Announcing the launch of the new online group and accompanying message board Wednesday, Nielsen said anyone looking to give away or acquire an item is welcome at Ketchikan Freecycle where all items listed are absolutely free! Ketchikan Freecycle welcomes charitable organizations to post their needs, giving confidence to a donor that the item is actually needed locally.
 
Recognizing a good idea when they see one, Nielsen said the Ketchikan Freecycle Network was inspired by and is modeled after the Tucson Freecycle Network, founded in March 2003 and profiled in the September 2003 issue of Utne magazine. Created by the non-profit group "Downtown Don't Waste It", the Tucson Freecycle Network has sparked a worldwide "freecycling" revolution of over  50,000 people in  more than 300 cities and several countries so far, with more added every day. 
 
Nielsen say to see grassroots working at its best, visit the "freecycling" movement  web site Freecycle.
 
In a news release Nielsen said that according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans recycle approximately 28% of its garbage, thus keeping 64 million tons of waste out of landfills across the country. Nielsen said local Ketchikan area residents are encouraged to join the Ketchikan Freecycle group and "freecycle" their trash rather than just tossing it away to clog and fill our landfill sites.
 
Ketchikan Freecycle is hosted on Yahoo!Groups. Signing up is simple.  Instructions are available on the Ketchikan Freecycle web page.

Nielsen said, together, we can raise awareness, reduce waste, and build a brighter tomorrow.

Source of News Release:

Ketchikan Freecycle
Web Site

 

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