Lansing-area recyclers might have a new way to keep Michigan clean.
Freecycling, a system where people can exchange unwanted items - at no cost - through online postings, is getting attention as a way to reduce landfill trash from Ingham County and surrounding communities.
"It's kind of like a garage sale where everything is free," said Aaron Liepman, the creator of the Mid-Michigan Freecycle Network. "People call it 'virtual Dumpster diving.'"
The Lansing-based online network serves more than 280 people in the city and surrounding communities. Members post wanted and available ads on the network's Yahoo Groups Web site. Out of about 10 Freecycle Networks serving Michigan, the Lansing group is the largest and most active, Liepman said.
Liepman created the network in September after he heard about a successful freecycle program in Kansas. He thought the Lansing area could benefit from a similar program because he always saw perfectly good items tossed to the city's curbs.
Posted items include electronics, appliances and furniture, but more obscure products are featured as well. There are wanted postings for foam packing peanuts, a fondue pot and board games.
"We're not trying to sell anything," said Kriss Ostrom, a librarian at MSU and a freecycler. "The basic concept is just to reduce waste."
Ostrom became one of the first freecyclers on the Mid-Michigan network when she accepted a CD player, an item posted by Liepman. A subscriber to the network's daily e-mail, she recently gave away a twin mattress that had been stored in her garage for several months.
Members are responsible for organizing their own exchanges. Ostrom said everyone on the network is "a very good person," adding that she has no problem with people who come directly to her home to pick up freecycled items.
But some Mid-Michigan members are worried that live animal postings on the site will attract the wrong kind of freecyclers. Concerns were raised after two guinea pigs were offered as giveaways earlier this month.
Lori Miller, a recycling coordinator for the city of Lansing, said free animals might end up in the wrong place - like a research laboratory.
"Everyone wants to see a good home for unwanted animals, but it may not be appropriate for a listserv," she said.
But in an online group poll, 55 percent of the network's voters chose to allow animals on the Mid-Michigan listserv, although no additional animal offers have been posted.
Liepman said he hopes the network will expand as students look to get rid of dorm and apartment clutter at the end of the semester. He said he hopes to gain at least 4,000 new members from the MSU community.
The Freecycling Network is free and open to anyone, but is geared toward people living in Ingham, Livingston, Jackson, Calhoun, Eaton, Clinton and Shiawassee counties.
For more information, visit groups.yahoo.com/groups/mmfn..
