How to give your junk to someone who wants it

It came in the form of the largest container ship in the world delivering goods destined for our shops from factories in China.

The fully-laden vessel was quite an arresting sight, providing an immediate visual impact of our consumerism.

No doubt in the next few weeks, all these items will find new homes during the annual Christmas shopping frenzy.

Of course, this Christmas's new presents will mostly end up in the waste stream in the next few weeks, months or years, as newer models come along, items wear out, are used up or simply go out of fashion.

What happens then? Some items will be passed on to friends or family, some will end up in charity shops, but a lot will fall victim of the "clear-out" and end up in the dustbin and eventually buried in the local landfill site.

A lot of unwanted junk also ends up in the backs of cupboards, the garage or the loft, where it will gather dust for many years before being discarded.

This is especially true for people who have the mindset that it could be useful one day, but not now.

Are you a hoarder or a clean freak? Do you have stuff hanging around that you don't really want, but its value may be limited or of little interest to a charity shop?

Are you loath to throw it away? If so, you may be interested in joining Freecycle, a legitimate way of giving your junk to someone who actually wants it and will save it from landfill.

Freecycle is an initiative that has been established around different parts of the globe, with a Worthing version starting in May of this year.

The idea is that if you have an item that you want to get rid of, you can offer it up to anyone who is prepared to "save" the item from landfill.

Likewise, if you have a request, you can put that in, too.

This is done via an email list of participants, who can sign up by visiting the local website (groups.yahoo.com/group/worthing-freecycle).

So far, there have been nearly 2,500 e-mail transactions for the Worthing Freecycle initiative, with all sorts of items being given over, including household appliances, furniture, sports equipment, bicycles and even a couple of cars!

All of these items have been given a new lease of life without any money changing hands or strings attached.

The moderators of this initiative ask only that the item is genuinely unwanted by the owner and will be saved from landfill as a result of the transaction.

Members should come only from the Worthing area (between Goring, East Worthing and Findon Village) to avoid lengthy collection trips.

If you are planning a clearout to make room for your Christmas presents, perhaps Freecycle could be the answer!