Carbondale Chamber of Commerce recently issued the following announcement.
Before leaving for the summer break or at move-out, students might be ready to throw out items that have piled up but are no longer needed. They still might have life in them, though, and some local organizations are offering an alternative to the landfill. Keep Carbondale Beautiful, in cooperation with Gaia House, invites SIU students and the wider community to participate in a Freecycle Exchange at the end of the school year.
On Thursday May 24th, Friday May 25th and Saturday May 26th between the hours of noon and 8 p.m., anyone is welcome to bring re-usable or re-giftable household, clothing or other items to Gaia House (corner of S. Illinois Ave. and Grand Ave). Likewise, anyone in need of an item, or just curious to see what's available, can come by during those times and help themselves. At the end of the week, the Freecycle Exchange will close and all remaining items will be donated to the Thrift Shop.
Freecycle is an online organization that “matches people who have things they need to get rid of with people who can use them. to keep usable items out of the landfill.” There is a Freecycle group specifically for Carbondale. An email from the moderator states, "By using what we already have on this earth, we reduce consumerism, manufacture fewer goods, and lessen the impact on the earth. Another benefit of using Freecycle.org is that it encourages us to get rid of junk that we no longer need and promote community involvement in the process."
The idea of sharing in this way is not new. More people might know that SIU's International Friends Club has a Loan Closet with household items for new arrivals. Some campuses keep extra office supplies to help people reduce, reuse, and recycle. And of course the Thrift Shop exists to facilitate the transformation from unwanted to reused, from trash to treasure.
For more information on the Freecycle Exchange, call or text Keep Carbondale Beautiful at 618 525-5525 or Gaia House volunteer staff at 618-305-0537 or send an email to keepcb1326@gmail.com or xinkie@yahoo.com.
Contact:
Sarah Heyer, Executive Director
keepcb1326@gmail.com, 6185255525
Original source can be found here.
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