Recycle Match is one of those ideas that should have existed ages ago. It's a fabulous concept and ultimately aims to get people reusing, trading, re-purposing and repairing before purchasing something new, or sending it to landfill.
Recycle Match is a web-based service that let's companies who have an excess of of no longer used or needed materials, sell them away to people or organizations who can make good use of the waste. One example given on the website is a surplus of Vinyl billboards used by an advertising company being given to a person who makes bags from scrap vinyl.
The service only charges if a successful match is made. In most cases it's a win-win situation. If companies can make a bit of profit from their commercial waste by using Recycle Match, rather than it go to landfill and people and organization can gain materials they need second hand, everyone benefits.
While I have not have had any experience with Recycle Match personally the idea itself strikes me as a brilliant one and one that can but be encouraged.
It is just such a shame that when one goes to many companies oneself, seeing the waste material, say, dumped in a skip, that one ends up being told: “No, you cannot have that stuff. It is our waste that we pay to have taken away.”
That approach is ever so daft, to say the very least. The companies would actually save money if people would take their stuff away for they would not have to pay for it to be hauled to the dump or the recycling facilities.
This applies equally to the likes of manufacturing companies as well as to building sites. No, you cannot possibly help yourself to that wood that they throw out. There might be some nails in there and you could hurt yourself on them and then decide to sue the company. Duh?
There is so much waste, commercial waste, often rather clean waste, that goes to landfill while someone else could use this to make things with. Thus Recycle Match is a good concept and hopefully the message will get across.
© 2010
