Trade & Exchange
There are many ways to Trade & Exchange - to give your unwanted stuff a new home, or to get new stuff that doesn't cost the earth. These are community or alternative recycling programs, ranging from simple ways to put your stuff back into circulation - give it away to an op shop or on freecycle - to neighbourhood tool-sharing programs where you can even pick up some advice along the way.
Here is a summary of different ways to ensure your items are re-used within the community, along with examples of each.
Environmental benefits
Trade and Exchanging takes items that have finished their useful life and places them back into circulation. By passing your clothes, accessories or equipment on to others, you are diverting materials from landfill thus conserving resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
By reusing or sharing a product rather than buying a new one, you're protecting the environment through saving water, energy and raw materials.
Giving Away
Online services like Scoodi and Freecycle work on the idea that you ‘contribute things you don't need, find things you do, all within your local community'. Items to be given away can be listed for others to pick up - which is great when you're trying to replace a couch. These are great options for avoiding landfill as there's always someone who'd like that really ugly lamp. Other community projects such as Bower (NSW) provide referral services for finding new owners for unusual and/or refurbish items for re-use. Many opportunity shops will take bric-a-brac as well as clothes, call ahead to check.
Examples
- Scoodi.com
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Freecycle.org.au or Freecycle.org
- Bower NSW Referral Service and Refurbishment
- Op shops Charity opportunity shops are widespread. Search RecyclingNearYou.com.au for shops near you.
Re-Use and Recycling Events
Events are a fun way to reduce, reuse or recycle. They help to get people motivated together, have a good time and meet other people in their community. Recycling and re-use events can be held between a group of friends or work colleagues, schools or neighbourhood areas.
Examples
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Swap Parties
Hold a party with a group of friends, at your work or publicly to swap certain items - from clothes to toys, DVDs to sports equipment. Planet Ark's Swap Guide makes it easy to host your own party. Visit the Swap Part Guide page to download the Guides, Rules, Invitation and Tokens. -
Swishing
Public clothing & accessories swap parties are a great place to pick up fancy frock for free! Visit www.clothingexchange.com.au for Australian events. -
Second Hand Saturday
Neighbourhood-wide garage sales organised for the same day, often arranged by the local council. Why not arrange one for your street? -
No Waste Wednesday
A day at work or school where you all minimize the waste you discard from lunch. Bring re-usable containers and recycle cans and bottles! -
Workplace or Community Recycling Collections
Hold a collection for corks, mobile phones, batteries, eye glasses or other items that can be recycled. Check out RecyclingNearYou.com.au to find a list of items you can recycle and where you can drop them off. -
Compacting
Set yourself a challenge with some friends not to buy anything new for a certain period. Check out sfcompact.blogspot.com
Services
Sharing equipment from tools to surfboards to cars through community programs or rental companies is a great way to access equipment without buying them. This reduces overall consumption and waste, decreasing the water, energy and raw materials involved in production. Connecting up with networks to trade services and products, such as Bartercard and LETS, also facilitate effective use of resources within the community without involving cash transactions. Many community programs provide the opportunity of additional support and technical assistance.
Examples
- Men's sheds (mensheds.com.au) A national network of local meeting places providing support and practical assistance.
- Bartercard.com.au helps small to medium businesses to grow by facilitating a trade and exchange network.
- Bike workshops eg. The Nunnery in Sydney (bicyclerecycling.com) provide tool lending and assistance, as well as links to bike recycling and refurbishment programs.
- FittedForWork.org is an example of a clothing re-use program supporting women returning to the workforce
- LETS (Local Energy Trading Systems; lets.org.au)
- Car sharing and Ride sharing - There are many businesses organising car sharing in cities, such as GoGet.com.au. Ride sharing is arranged through websites like catchalift.com
Trading Products
There are many easy options to buy, sell and trade your pre-loved goods from a local to wider level. Listings can be placed in your local classifieds or in a plethora of commercial or community websites.
Examples
- Trading Post facilitates buy, selling and trading for new and used products as a paper and website (TradingPost.com.au).
- Gumtree.com.au is a network and listings site available for many cities in Australia.
- Online swishing International clothes swapping with designer brands online. Visit Swapstyle.com
- eBay is an online auction and vendor marketplace for local or global purchases.
Recycling & Refurbishment Options
For larger, bulkier or unusual items there are a range of ways to ensure re-use. Furniture can be sold or donated to second hand furniture stores, charities or re-use centres. Community re-use through donating to op shops, charities, re-use centres or community art and/or craft projects. Items such as floor tiles, material offcuts that are unusual or difficult to recycle are often valuable to community arts projects.
Examples
- Op shops Charity opportunity shops are widespread. Search RecyclingNearYou.com.au for shops near you.
- TippWear is an example of a community project promoting re-use of material left at council tips.
- Reverse Garbage (NSW) is an example of a re-use centre that sells industrial discards to the public for creative and practical projects, reducing the waste going to landfill (www.reversegarbage.com.au)
