Freecyling in Malaysia and around the world

FREECYCLE: CHANGING THE WORLD,
ONE GIFT AT A TIME!

MALAYSIA, South East Asia --The Malaysia Freecycle Network (MFN) encourages all Malaysian residents to reduce, reuse, recycle, and FREECYCLE.

Based on the old adage that "one person's trash is another person's treasure", MFN's goal is to reduce the flow of trash into our landfills by connecting people who want to get rid of unwanted "stuff" with those frugal people looking for free "stuff".

Anyone looking to give away or acquire an item is welcome at MFN, where all items listed are absolutely free! MFN welcomes charitable organizations to post their needs, giving confidence to a donor that the item is actually needed locally, and is not going to just collect dust on a thrift store shelf.

The Malaysia Freecycle Network was established December 12, 2004 and by today has a little more than 200 members

MFN is hosted on Yahoo!Groups. Signing up is simple. Instructions are available on the Malaysia Freecycle Yahoo! page at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_malaysia

The Malaysia Freecycle Network was inspired by and is modeled after the Tucson Freecycle Network, founded in March 2003 and profiled on CNBC-TV on May 4th. Created by the non-profit group "Downtown Don't Waste It", the Tucson Freecycle Network has sparked a worldwide "freecycling" revolution.

Number of cities freecycling: 2,023
Number of people freecycling: 739,000
Number of countries freecycling: 42

The active Malaysian freecycle groups currently are

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_malaysia
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_kl

Other Malaysian Freecycle networks:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_selangor
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_negrisembilan
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_melaka
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_johore
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_pahang
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_trengganu
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_kelantan
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_kedah
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_perak
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_sarawak
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_sabah

These groups were formed for residents of Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca, Johore, Pahang, Trengganu, Kelantan, Kedah, Perak, Sarawak, Sabah to join even though there are currently very few members and are largely inactive. It is planned for people to join the Malaysian group as well as the local groups, and for the local groups to be activated when the membership has grown and/or when there is a local volunteer to act as moderator.

More added every day -- a totally grassroots/volunteer effort.
Not a single salary; 100% volunteer operated!

To see grassroots working at its best, visit the "freecycling" movement website at: http://www.freecycle.org. Recent Freecycle news is always available at: http://www.freecycle.org/news/

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. Similar statistics are unfortunately not available for Malaysia at present. Anyone has the statistics are encouraged to post them in the COMMENTS on this blog. Malaysian generate 18,000 tons of rubbish daily. Average amount per Malaysian per day is 0.8 kg, with the rate for urban dwellers higher at 1.5 kg. The Malaysia Freecycle Network would like to see Malaysia's rate of recycling exceed U.S. levels one day. Nothing is impossible. Some statistics from The Star Dec 19

Solid waste:

organic: 47%
paper: 15%
plastic: 14%
wood-based: 4%
metal: 4%
glass and ceramic: 3%
textile: 3%
others: 10%

We're making a BIG difference. Someone estimated that freecyclers have succeeded in keeping 33 tons a day; 12,045 tons per year of waste out of landfills.

Together, we can raise awareness, reduce waste, build a brighter tomorrow, and make an even BIGGER difference.

FREECYCLE - Supplemental / Background Information
========================================

LARGEST Freecycle
Portland, OR Freecycle
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycleportland/
13,000 members

MOST REMOTE Freecycle
Cambridge Bay, Nunavut Territories, Canada
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CambridgeBayFreecycle
http://snipurl.com/b6dk
Lat-Long: 69° 6' 28" -105° 8' 17"

Countries participating in Freecycle:
http://www.freecycle.org/display.php?region=International

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad, UK, USA

Useful Contacts:

Deron Beal - "Founder" of the Freecycle idea, originally launched in Tucson, AZ in May/03.
(520) 791-2569
deron@rise-inc.org
info@freecycle.org

Recent FREECYCLE news:
http://www.freecycle.org/news/
============================

CBS Marketwatch: December 24th, 2004
"Forum recycles used items for free"
http://freecycle.org/archives/000431.php

USA Today; December 20, 2004
"Freecycle to the Rescue"
http://freecycle.org/archives/000428.php

Grist Magazine: December 7th, 2004
"Trash test dummies"
http://freecycle.org/archives/000433.php

Deron Beal; Freecycle Founder:
Named #1 of 50 heroes are making our planet a better place
ORGANIC STYLE ENVIRONMENTAL POWER LIST
http://freecycle.org/archives/000353.php
October 20, 2004

Psssst! Want a Used Snake
The Bulletin:
St. Lawrence and Downtown Toronto
http://freecycle.org/archives/000347.php
October 13, 2004

Ottawa CBC-TV evening news; April 22/04
Reduce, reuse, Freecycle
http://ottawa.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ot_freecycle20040423

ABC station; Chicago -- Trash To Treasures
September 28, 2004 — Finding new homes for your unwanted items has
never been easier. If you're ready to rid your home of clutter, don't
just dump it in the garbage. "Freecycle" it.

People Magazine, May 10th
50 Most Beautiful People issue
"Free for All"