Rita The Recycler
by Linda Casper

 

 

It all started when Rita’s beloved food mixer broke down. Living alone, making cakes was both her hobby and her salvation. Her brother suggested that she should ask on Freecycle whether anyone had a broken appliance of the same make and model and he would try to repair it. Lo and behold, three hours after posting the message on the site, she received an e-mail from someone who lived in her area offering to supply what she needed.

 

Without the baking to occupy her time, Rita took the opportunity to declutter the house and placed the surplus items on Freecycle. E-mails came thick and fast, and a steady stream of visitors called at her house to collect the offered articles.

 

“I could get used to this,” thought Rita, who didn’t have much of a social life as she searched her now minimalist house for more stuff to offer on the site.

 

While perusing the posts for wanted items, Rita came across an offer of a table lamp with a porcelain base which she immediately requested, thinking it would do for the entrance hall. She saw there were other useful bits and pieces going free, many in mint condition and concluded that some people must redecorate their rooms very regularly. Sometimes these items were offered more than once with a note on the post stating that they would be taken to the tip if a new home couldn’t be found for them.

 

It was then that Rita hit upon her plan. She would take in various items advertised on Freecycle from people who lived in her neighbourhood, then she would readvertise them thus saving them from ending up as landfill.

 

Rita’s home was full to the rafters as she acquired ornaments, foot spas, rugs, kitchenware and bedding. She handled the continual flow of e-mails like an expert and everyone who called to the house to collect an item was treated to a cup of tea and homemade cake.

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