wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

i have some furniture i want to get rid of but the exterminator told me i have to keep it. i could throw everything out and not tell a soul. eventually there will be new laws regarding the incorrect and hazardous disposal of (bed bug) infested furniture clothes books cd's. this a biohazard and hurt's our economy. forget freegans. get a job so you can afford a exterminator. be responsible about anything you throw if you have bugs bed bugs. you have to wrap the item in plastic and mark it danger infested before it goes outside. tell the manager asap pray the manager doesn't have them and is not telling. the scavenged dresser and coffee table and xbox games from the dumpster cost me a pile of money time and tears. nothing is free. wake up people.

The Really Really Free Market is a bazaar and a celebration, where we discard capitalist notions of interaction and have fun trying new models of exchange. Expect and share free food, skills, music, clothing, books, other things and fun!

This is an open participatory event some groups and individuals are planning to bring and share food, clothes, skills, music, and things, but there has always been space for you to do the same.

Expect to find
Live Music and guitar lessons by Guitaro (5000)
, Radical Reference, Acupuncture, Haircuts, Dental Consultations from a dentist, Hugs, Face-Painting, Food by Freegan.info, Silk Screening, Tarot Card Reading, and More and More

indoors at the Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Sq. South NYC
Yes the space is Wheelchair accessible!
Come as early as 2pm to help us set up or stay late for cleanup
This event takes place on the last Sunday of each month but check with us for possible time and location changes beyond April.
you can find out more information on The RRFM at our page...
www.myspace.com/anewworldinourhearts

<3--Heidi

goodwill has a stand at the farmers market in union square on mondays [so far] at which you can donate clothing, art materials, material, shoes that are still wearable etc..

Buyer beware… You might think you’re getting a great free deal off the street out of someone’s trash but you might also be bringing friend’s home you don’t want and can’t easily get of. No matter how nice a neighborhood you think your salvaging from, it’s just as likely to be infested with bed bugs and cockroaches which indiscriminately infest NYC hoods and even quite suburbia neighborhoods. Anything wood or made out of cardboard can be infested with cockroach eggs. They also like to nest in warm areas. So anything you plug in that generates heat like a TV or computer could also be infested with cockroach eggs. Bedding, clothing, rugs and cloth furniture can be infested with bed bugs. Only really safe thing to bring into your house off the street is anything made of plastic, glass or ceramic - no electronics, period. Now if you trash pick in the winter, that’s a different story. Make sure to leave your new found junk outside for a minimum of 48 hours (the longer the better) in 32 degree weather or lower. That would be enough time to kill any unwanted tropical guests.

But really, if you need a blender, go out and buy a nice new one (not a cheap one) and with the proper care (you dont beat the crap out of it), it could last you a life time. Its called a durable good and chances are it will last much longer then the semi new blender on the street that you have no idea how it was treated.

In the film 'Running on Empty,' the character played by River Phoenix scavenges the beach for his mother's birthday present, explaining to Martha Plimpton's somewhat perplexed character his family's rule that all presents must be either hand-made or 'found.'

Freecycle! Go to freecycle.org to find a local group - there are almost 5,000 of them. It's a great way to clean out your home and give away items you no longer need or use, but don't want to just throw away. You can either post a request for something you need or an offer for something you want to give away. People contact you and you make arrangement for a handoff. I've given away lots of stuff, from old sewing machines to records to spare PC parts for a college student who was buiding PCs for his Vietnamese neighbors' kids (who couldn't afford to buy a PC). Turns out this kid had gone to Stuyvesant, where my son is now, and they had a great chat about college...

what about learning we do not need to acquire something every time we walk out of the house?

I love picking up stuff from the garbage but 75% of the stuff I get, I store for a couple of years and then put in the garbage myself.

we need less (telling myself here) . . .

Nicholas [11] I disagree. Spending is not good for the person doing the spending. Especially if they are in a dire economic situation. It is the constant, mindless spending for stuff we don't need, coupled with a culture of throwing perfectly good stuff out just because it's not the latest and greatest, that is part of the mentatlity, that makes us more vulnerable to downturns.

We need to be more resilient, more self-sufficient, and less wasteful in our society. Fixing appliances also causes less polution in our environment.

This is long-term thinking!

Agree with Stephen and Jeff above.

Ten years ago, I'd have agreed completely with scavengers. In fact, that's how I picked up furnishings for my first apartment out of college.

But in this day and age, I cannot believe anyone is encouraging this behavior, given the current bedbug epidemic. People who pick up any furnishing or clothing off the street, or at a swap, must have their heads in the sand.

Rather than helping the environment, they're contributing to a major public health problem that is resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on (toxic) insecticides. Not to mention $$$ spent on post-bedbug therapy!

I hate the self-righteousness of these kind of people. Everything has to be a "manifesto." I've been doing this for years, since college (my house is filled with found stuff), but I also buy new stuff from stores. Yet somehow I don't consider myself a hero or more politically correct for either acquisition. More people would be open to this message if it wasn't delivered with such humorless patronizing drama.

Sorry but these speakers sound like they already have money and don't have big worries about basic needs like rent. Or their spouse is bringing home the bacon so they can spend all this time scavenging. That's why she says money is not so important.

Abbie Hoffman is smiling in his grave...
This whole segment is like a chapter from " Steal this book"

I get rid of he stuff I no longer need and get exactly what I need FOR FREE. Plus I've met a lot of cool people.

http://www.freecycle.org/

Scooter

Best place to "scavenge" is www.freecycle.org. Primarily you can get rid of your unneeded items and then find items you want, or request items you want. Best yet, its all local!

when is the "free market?"

I love scavenging! My old apartment was completely furnished with what I found on the street (less so now with the bedbug epidemic) but I trade with friends, buy from stoop sales and thrift stores, have gotten free furniture off of craigslist.
I try to buy/find 90% of my clothes and belongings used....it is more fun, individual, and I love that everything I have has a story and a history.
Reduce, reuse, recycle.

But the economics of scavenging- on a big-system level - are bad for all of us. We're in the middle of a recessionary spiral, where shortage of demand leads to less spending which leads to fewer jobs which leads to less demand, and so forth as we spiral downwards. I know it's counter-intuitive, but spending in boutiques is better for all of us than scavenging.

I appreciate your guest's comments about the absurdity of people somehow getting the message that accumulating a lot of material possessions will make them happy or make them appear more affluent, but let's not lose sight of the fact that people have always liked to surround themselves with beautiful things, going back to the time of cave art. Usefulness is important but it's not everything. I doubt they would tell anyone to get rid of their art, but beautiful textiles (and yes, sometimes clothes and jewelry) can indeed bring people pleasure too. And that's not an entirely terrible thing.

watch out for bedbugs. i suspect that this is how i acquired them years back, and I never picked up a bed, couch, or anything associated with them.

Even though I love scavenging and understand it's important to do, right now there is a fairly important caveat to remember: when scavenging through stuff on the street, keep in mind the bedbug epidemic that is spreading like wildfire throughout the city and country--some of these treasures may prove to infested.

I used to scavenge things all the time. Then I got bedbugs, which was hell.

Often a computer is thrown away simply because it has become overloaded with viruses and spyware...remove them and you have a working machine. Our nonprofit computer association (NYPC) runs a PC Clinic, and we have on occasion restored a scavenged computer to excellent health. One of our members has set up computers for his entire family by adopting and refurbishing ones left on the curb.

Each neighborhood has a different bulk garbage night. I have gotten a TV with the remote taped to it and some small pieces of furniture.

I live in an affluent suburb of Westchester, where weekly bulk trash disposal offers me a bonanza of good stuff. For the bigger capital items I swear by craigslist and have bought and sold on it for years, in the process meeting many nice people who simply hate to throw out perfectly good stuff.

$90,000,000 worth of bottle and can deposits are left on the streets of NYC every year!!

Clothing swaps. Everyone has some perfectly good clothes they don't wear, because they don't fit right, the color doesn't work, it was given to them by their ex, etc. Pick a date, find a locale, designate a homeless shelter or thrift store to take the leftovers, and invite lots of people. I've found it works best when the clothes are sorted into piles (pants, sweaters, children's, etc). And it helps to have someone with a car to transport the leftovers. Tell people not to bring damaged items or items covered with pet hair. Female attendees might want to wear sports bras and/or tights to facilitate trying on clothes. I've gotten tons of clothes & shoes this way and have facilitated the donation of an enormous amount of clothing, bedding, etc. to shelters. Swaps are fun, environmentally & socially righteous, and make more sense than ever in these challenging times.

Part of this discussion should include the vast amount of low quality and environmentally unsound products produced for cheap in non-Democratic countries. In America, we have been buying this cheap stuff for years, which is ultimately disgarded soon after purchase. American products produced in the 1950's still work today, and my grandmother's 1950 can opener is better than anything of like today.