With mountains of discarded stuff heading for landfill, why add to the waste by buying new gear? Cash-strapped Hugh Reilly set out to furnish his flat – for nothing – with other people’s cast-offs Published: After moving into a bare flat in Spitalfields, east London, I was presented with a furniture dilemma. Like most postgraduate students, I survive on limited means, so the prospect of forking out for overpriced furnishings and domestic appliances filled me and my bank balance with dread. Then a friend told me about Freecycling. ‘People just give away household stuff they no longer use or want rid of,’ he said, ‘and most of it’s perfectly good stuff.’ It seemed too good to be true. I looked into it and was surprised by what was on offer. Sofas, fridges, cookers, beds, TVs, CDs, books, even motor vehicles – you name it, if someone wants to get rid of it, someone else will pick it up.’ Freecycle began in 2003 in Tucson, Arizona, with the aim of reducing the amount of waste and preventing the desert landscape being taken over by landfills. Since then, Freecycle has snowballed. There are now more than two million […]