In 2012, 32,000 users engaged with FreeTrade Ireland to reuse 16,000 items like toys, furniture, electronic goods and garden equipment. FreeTrade Ireland is a free, public online service that helps people to reuse unwanted items. FreeTrade Ireland users are saved the hassle of trekking down to local recycling centres or the cost of hiring a skip. People interested in an item posted on the website simply contact the person advertising the item and find out more. It’s a win-win situation and it’s all free.
“In 2012 seven out of ten ads posted were successfully answered in 2012, which is an average of 44 items reused each day. This reuse has delivered over €1.7 million in savings to users with over 290,000kg of materials avoiding landfill as a result,” says Warren Phelan, Website Manager who has just launched the new FreeTrade Ireland awareness video “We have a new video on our website showing people how to use the service and the benefits of it, which will hopefully encourage even more people to use FreeTradeIreland.ie in 2013.”
FreeTrade Ireland is a community initiative, promoted by local authorities around the country. By the end of 2012 over 60,000 items will have been reused through the FreeTrade service since it started in 2006. The service currently has over 43,600 users registered and saved users an estimated €1.7 million in 2012. These savings have been generated through avoided disposal costs and in savings to new owners who no longer need to purchase a new item.
“The statistics speak for themselves – we have had over 275,000 visitors to the website in 2012 alone,” says Hugh Coughlan, spokesperson for FreeTradeIreland.ie. “This proves that Free Trade Ireland remains a highly efficient way of preventing quality resources from becoming a waste while also encouraging social engagement within communities.”