Freegle
 Freegle logo | |
| Formation | 11 September 2009 |
|---|---|
| Type | Network of Communities |
| Legal status | Industrial and Provident Society for Community Benefit |
| Purpose | Reuse |
Region served | United Kingdom |
Membership | 2,608,461 |
Official language | English |
Budget | £40,000 per year |
Volunteers | Approx. 1000 |
| Website | https://ilovefreegle.org |
Freegle is a UK organisation that aims to increase reuse and reduce landfill by offering a free Internet-based service where people can give away and ask for things that would otherwise be thrown away.
History
[edit]Freegle was formed on 11 September 2009 after many Freecycle groups in the UK decided to break away from the US parent organisation following disagreements on how groups in the UK should operate and the dismissal of long-term UK moderators, who had been speaking out.[1][2][3][4]
Organisation
[edit]Each local Freegle group is run by volunteers, is autonomous and affiliates to the national Freegle Ltd organisation provided they meet basic requirements such as being free to join and everything handed on must be free and legal.[5]< Freegle Ltd is a nonprofit organization: Registered Society (previously known as an Industrial and Provident Society for Community Benefit) Registration no: 32410R.[6] and registered as a charity with HMRC reference XT32865.[7]
Membership numbers
[edit]In January 2021, there were 453 groups, supported by about 449 volunteers, with 3,267,715 members in the UK.[8]
Hosting
[edit]Freegle groups are hosted on Freegle's own open source platform, which is available here (client) and here (server). A lot of Freegle groups are also accessible via the Trash Nothing website.
Mobile apps
[edit]In April 2015 the Freegle mobile app was launched to allow access to Freegle Direct groups on Android, iOS and Kindle phones and tablets.[9]
See also
[edit]- Gift economy
- Freecycle
- Reciprocal altruism
- Reuse
- Sharing
- Sharing economy
- Circular economy
- Waste Hierarchy
References
[edit]- ^ Glaskin, Max (10 September 2009). "UK Freecycle moderators break away from US network". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group.
- ^ "Web recycling groups split" (Registration required). Financial Times. London: Pearson plc. 18 September 2009.
- ^ "What went wrong with Freecycle in the UK?". The Ecologist. 30 September 2009.
- ^ "http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/13359378.Containers_to_turn_trash_into_treasure/" The Argus. Retrieved 2015-6-29.
- ^ "Group Affiliation Requirements Policy". Freegle Wiki. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ "Mutuals Public Register entry for Freegle Ltd". Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ^ https://mutuals.fca.org.uk/Search/Society/9593 "About Freegle". Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ^ "Freegle". ilovefreegle.org/stats.
- ^ "New Freegle app created in Eden". Cumberland and Westmorland Herald. Penrith. 24 April 2015.