Recycle your old furniture
Keep your unwanted furniture and electrical items out of landfill and give them a chance of a new life with someone else by joining a local free recycling group.
The problem
Every day we throw away thousands of perfectly usable items of furniture, office equipment and electrical appliances.
All of these bulky, often non-biodegradable goods end up in landfill sites when there could well be someone in your neighbourhood who could find a good use for them.
What you can do
Free Recycling is the act of giving away your unwanted goods to people in your local community rather than throwing them away.
There are now hundreds of Free Recycling groups all over the UK who can help you find someone to take your old furniture off your hands.
So if you have an old TV you don't want, or a sofa you can't stand to look at any more, why not find a new home for it rather than throwing it out with the rubbish?
How to do it
The first step is to join a Free Recycling group. The two largest organisations are the FreeCycling Network and FreeSharing. You should find a local group affiliated to one of these in your area.
Once you've joined, you'll be able to advertise any unwanted items you have to your fellow members simply by emailing the group. Even better, you'll be able to post 'Items Wanted' messages as well. Who knows, your next door neighbour may well have the perfect coffee table for your sitting room lying in his garage.
Free recycling doesn't just help the environment, it also encourages us to make use of things we no longer need and promotes community involvement in the process.
Take pledgeRecycle your Christmas cards
By recycling your Christmas cards you can help reduce the number of cards that end up in landfill
Read moreThe great carrier bag debate - an expert's view
Julia Hailes, well known environmentalist talks carrier bags
Read more