Jan. 30, 2009 — The Barefoot Buddha café in Havensight welcomed the largest environmental web community in the world, Freecycle Network, to St. Thomas Friday night with a party to introduce it to the community.
"We’re getting a lot of responses from Bordeaux farmers," said Shanna James, Barefoot Buddha co-owner and moderator for the Recycling Association of the Virgin Islands (RAVI). "They’re excited to become activists."
She said local farmers find the site useful for items such as plastic gallon containers or 32 oz. yogurt containers that they can use to plant seedlings.
Exemplifying the adage "one man’s junk is another man’s treasure", freecycle.org is a place where members can advertise items they want to give away for free or request items they think other people may want to give away for free.
The environmentally conscious grassroots movement, with over 6.3 million members in more than 85 countries, was created with the intention of reducing waste and landfills.
It is also being promoted in the territory by RAVI.
"Often we throw away things that are in need of minor repairs, and there are lots of people out there with the time and ability to fix things," said Recycling Association member Victoria Bernett in a press release.
She added that Freecycle is helpful in the cases of large items like furniture, heavy sports equipment, and items that would cost more for a classified ad than the item is worth.
Freecycle Membership is free, and everything posted must be free, legal and appropriate for all ages.
Local residents can gain membership directly through freecycle.org or by signing in through one of more than 4,600 affiliated groups such as Yahoo!.
For interested people without a computer, Barefoot Buddha offers free Internet access to anyone that wants to use the site.
"Freecycle really does connect the community. It’s a force for change," James said.
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