Living Las Vegas

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Pass It On: Freecycle Las Vegas

Nevadans like to claim that the rest of the country sees our state as a trashcan, the perfect spot for dumping radioactive garbage. After all, it’s just a big empty desert, so what the heck? But as righteously outraged as we feel about Yucca Mountain becoming the nation’s nuclear dumpster, Nevadans are not guilt-free in thinking of the desert as a convenient place to unload crap with impunity. We may not be throwing toxic waste in our own backyards, but far too many of us have been divesting ourselves of hideous old couches in vacant lots.

There’s a hideous old couch not three blocks from where I’m sitting to write this, its cushions leaning against the post of a sign that reads “No Dumping.” I can’t believe it every time I drive by it. Do I really live in a city where the litter is made by La-Z-Boy? It’s shocking, but nowhere in Las Vegas is immune. From the manicured lawns of Summerlin to the Henderson hills, you never have to drive very far to see a rusty refrigerator or an old bed uglifying a patch of undeveloped land.

Fortunately, a growing number of people have decided that it’s past time to stop junking up the desert, and some have even taken action. Among them is Deborah Watson, who recently founded a chapter of Freecycle in Las Vegas. Freecycle is a nonprofit organization that originated in Tucson, Arizona, another desert city with “dump it and run” problems. The idea is to help people get rid of excess stuff by connecting them with others who want it. Through the magic of the Internet, one man’s old bathtub becomes another’s garden shrine.

Freecycle works, too. Bobbie Davis is a perfect example. A stay-at-home mom on a tight budget, she had been hanging her laundry to dry in the kitchen because a dryer was a little beyond her financial reach. He mother heard about Freecycle one day on the radio, and Bobbie began checking the Web site. It wasn’t long before somebody listed a dryer.

“You have to be quick to reply,” she said. “The good things go fast.”

Bobbie was quick. Her kitchen is no longer festooned with drying clothing, and the desert remained free of another abandoned appliance.

Just about anything legal and G-rated can be posted on Freecycle. People have given away cars, clothes, and dogs. They’ve received computers, refrigerators, and construction materials. In addition to her dryer, Bobbie Davis has gotten a dozen cans of house paint and a picnic table. She’s given away a freezer, a bread machine, and a glass-sided display case someone is going to turn into a python cage. Multiply her experiences by the more than 1,500 members in the Las Vegas chapter, and there’s no question that Freecycle is a good idea. Not only does it improve the landscape of our city, it creates community.

Here’s an idea, Washington: “Available: A jillion tons of radioactive waste. Don’t worry. It’s safe.”

Somebody’s gotta want it.

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