Freecycle Birmingham
Birmingham Freecycle and other local reuse options in Birmingham UK
Looking for info about Birmingham Freecycle and ways to donate or acquire nice stuff for free in and around the Birmingham area? Well, this is perfect guide for you. We cover how to join and use Birmingham Freecycle and how else you can give away or get hold of second hand things for free or very little in the region.
1) Birmingham Freecycle
Freecycle is a free reuse platform. It connects people who wish to donate or gift things they own but no longer need (eg. sofa, ironing board, firewood, exercise machine) with people nearby who want that item for free. It works in local pods or groups. Birmingham Freecycle Town Group is one of those groups and covers the West Midlands area.
If you are looking for something, then you create a 'Wanted' listing. Whereas, if you wish to donate something, you create an 'Offer' listing. Delivery of the item is usually down to the person receiving the gift. Although, sometimes very generous donors will deliver it for free locally.
The website for Birmingham Freecycle Town Group is here. In order to use the platform you will need to create an account. Creating an account and using Freeycle is free. You can do this using your Facebook details or create a separate Freecycle user name and password. This also requires a valid email address.
New users are obliged to agree to Freecycle's terms of service, a copy of which can be found here. If you have any questions about the process, you can email their support team at [email protected]. Their key user guidelines are
- nothing illegal / edgy (eg. drugs, weapons, alcohol, sexual content)
- don't post lots of 'wanted' listings, otherwise you'll get blocked
- keep it friendly and non-political
- no personal ads
- no animal ads
- keep it free / no money
The Twitter address for Birmingham Freecycle is https://twitter.com/bham_freecycle and here is an article about it published on Birmingham Live in January 2013.
2) Trashnothing Birmingham
Not to be confused with Freecycle, there is a very similar free reuse platform called Trashnothing. Trashnothing is a combination of listings from Freegle (see below) and local chapters of Freecycle (we know it's confusing, but it doesn't really matter provided it works!).
The web address for the Trashnothing Birmingham group is here. Just to keep you on your toes, this group refers to itself as Birmingham Freecycle. At last check it had over 15,500 members who are donating or getting free stuff in the region.
Joining and using the platform is similar to Freecycle.
3) Freegle Birmingham
Next there is Freegle. Freegle is a free reuse platform like Freecycle. It works in pretty much the identical way although you can also join using your Google account, rather than just Facebook. The key difference between these two non-profit organisations is that Freegle is predominantly a UK site, whereas Freecycle is US based. Its terms of use are here
The web address for the Freegle Birmingham, UK group is here.
Just to keep you on your toes, the group actually refers to itself as Birmingham Freecycle. Weird right?! At last check, it had over 15,500 members who are donating or getting free stuff all the time.
4) LoveJunk
LoveJunk is an online marketplace for giving away/ disposing of unwanted bigger items like furniture, appliances, exercise equipment and rubble. It is also the perfect place to find pre-loved items for free.
To give something away, go to LoveJunk's website, enter your postcode and click Find Your Collector. Follow the instructions to create and post a free listing. Once your listing is live, both nearby reusers and licensed waste carriers can see it. Both can offer to take it away (reusers for free; waste collectors for a fee) and you can choose which one to accept. Although a free collection is great, sometimes you won't get any bids from reusers. In which case, LoveJunk's approved waste collectors can still take it away.
To find great pre-loved and free stuff on LoveJunk, make sure you register with them as a reuser. Once you've made an account, you'll be able to adjust your filters to show items in and around Birmingham. If you see something you like, message the owner and collect it for free!
5) Gumtree Birmingham Freebies section
Gumtree is a classified ads and community site covering all manner of items and services. It has a section for 'freebies' (ie. items that can collected for free) and this can be filtered down to the Birmingham area. There are normally 50 - 100 unclaimed listings actively running in the Birmingham Gumtree Freebies section.
Users can create free 'basic' listings to advertise their item or pay various levels of extra charges in order to boost its visibility. It doesn't cost you to respond to an advert. So the charges are only on those people looking to get rid of stuff. Not the reusers interested in collecting it.
Note, Gumtree is not a charity.
6) The ReUsers shop, Sutton Coldfield
The ReUsers is a reuse social enterprise that partners with Birmingham City Council and Veolia. It restores and recycles second hand items. The ReUsers is one of the social enterprises of Jericho, a Birmingham based Christian charity.
The ReUsers shop is located next to the Sutton Coldfield recycling centre. It is over 15,000 square feet and covers everything from antiques, electrical appliances and bikes to gardening equipment, sports, furniture and clothing. Their address is ReUsers, Norris Way, Sutton Coldfield, B75 7BB.
The phone number is 0121 329 2797 and email address is [email protected].
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 08:30 - 16:00; Sunday 10:00 - 16:00
7) CT Furniture Birmingham - Northfield
CT Furniture collects second hand, reusable furniture and eletrical items free of charge from residents. It operates through West Midlands and Newcastle. You can book a Birmingham collection by calling them on 0121 773 2858 or online here. Bear in mind, like all charitable organisations, response times are probably quite slow - but if you are not in a rush and the item you have is genuinely nice (rather than soiled, worn out or broken), then it's a great way to support a local community project.
Items collected are then sold through its stores. As well as second hand items, they also sell new beds.
The CT Furniture Birmingham store is located in Northfield. The full address is 780-784, Bristol Road South, Northfield, Birmingham B31 2NN. email is [email protected]. Store opening times are Monday - Friday 09:00 - 16:30 and Saturday 09:00 - 16:00. They also have another store in Wolverhampton - more details are here.
Community Transport (CT) is a charity that was founded in Birmingham in 1960s. It has three arms: CT Passenger (transport services), CT Furniture (furniture & eletrical appliance reuse), and CT Training (transport training). More information can be found here.
More for Birmingham householders
Thanks for reading! We hope you liked the article and found everything you needed about Freecycling and reusing in Birmingham. We've written some more articles for Birmingham householders that you might find useful:
- House Clearance Birmingham: our guide to avoid cowboys and save money
- Guide to Rubbish Removal Birmingham: answers to every question about bulky waste in Birmingham!
- Birmingham Recycling Centre Guide: locations, opening times, what you can and can't dispose of and more
- Ultimate Guide to Freecycle - step-by-step guide to using, plus all questions answered
- Solihull Bulky Waste Collection: a rubbish clearance guide for residents of Solihull
