I just became a member of the Freecyle network. www.Freecycle.org It’s a really cool site where you can search for free goods, or recycle your own excess. It costs nothing to join, and the no-cost merchandise is varied. A glance at today’s posts included offerings of a vacuum cleaner, a wooden desk, 50 sheets of poster paper, and cherry-flavored Nyquil.

Last week, I scored a shopping bag full of gratis hair products, toiletries, and unused make-up. Then Benni needed to get rid of his computer monitor. I posted a listing, and it was gone within 24 hours, which is a lot better than having to schlep it over to the electronic waste dump.

Freecycle has thousands of local groups representing millions of members. As a result, they are currently keeping over 500 tons a day out of landfills. This amounts to five times the height of Mt. Everest in the past year alone, when stacked in garbage trucks. In spite of the old inspirational song, “Climb Every Mountain,” I say that’s one mountain no one should have to climb.