Imagine a place where people give away things for free, or where you can put out a request for something you have always wanted but have no intention of shelling out cash for.

It might then come as a surprise to learn that not only does this place already exist, there is one in Beijing. More than that, the true shocker is that it has been here since 2005 and hardly anyone knows about it.

Freecycle.org might have a loose reputation for being the "world's largest online recycling group", but its statistics are overwhelming - it exists in more than 100 countries and has 7.5 million members. Users post messages to give away goods or request them, and others post to accept.

And the local version (groups.freecycle.org/freecyclebeijing), while mostly unknown to Beijingers, is slowly growing with about 900 members - most of which are expats.

Sarah Burton, 29, an American living in Beijing, recently gave away her IKEA sofa on the site, which she described as the most expensive item she has contributed since first joining the group in Wisconsin.

"I love it. I joined the Beijing group in 2008 when a friend told me of its existence," she said.

"I always encourage my friends to use it, especially those who have just moved here. It is particularly useful for recent graduates with limited finances."

However, Burton was quick to point out that the Beijing group is too small for the city and much less popular than similar groups in the US.

Another user, a Beijing girl named Shi Yuanyuan who joined one month ago, is a huge fan of the Freecycle Beijing group.

"I found it when I was searching for a place to donate my clothes and books to," she said. "It is such a brilliant idea. I can't wait to see how my old things become useful again."

Freecycle.org, the club's main site, is the 2003 creation of netizen Deron Beal, from Tucson, America.

"More than 25,000 items, equating to about 800 tons, are being gifted on Freecycle.org every single day. When packed in garbage trucks, that is more than 12 times the height of Mt Qomolangma in the past year alone," he said.

Beal believes the success of the site comes not only from the user's ability to get free things.

"It directly empowers an individual to help another. In doing so, they can build a local community and also benefit from each other on a globally-local level."

Not everyone is positive about Freecycle though, such as 34-year-old IT engineer Xie Yanbo in Beijing.

"I wanted to see how many Chinese people use this service. There are too few members in the Beijing group and most are foreigners," he said.

"I have no intention of using Freecycle because while I do have things I want to give away, I would prefer to donate them to local people who need them more than foreigners."

China Daily

(China Daily 08/30/2010)