A year of finding homes for items that are "too good to toss"

Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release - December 14, 2004

04-229

A year of finding homes for items that are "too good to toss"

OLYMPIA - The www.2good2toss.com Web site is a year old, and progress is being measured by what landfills don't have to show for it.

Created by the state Department of Ecology and its participating city and county partners, 2good2toss is a Web site where people can find new and re-usable construction materials and household items. In a year, nearly 741,500 pounds of material have been exchanged via 2good2toss, much of which may have otherwise ended up in the landfill.

"The landfill isn't necessary for re-usable items," said Shelly McClure, who coordinates the online-exchange project for Ecology. "This much success in our first year shows that other people around Washington welcome an alternative to dumping. It's fantastic."

The free 2good2toss.com service has been on-line for a little over a year and grown to nearly 10,000 registered users in 16 participating counties and cities. It has been described as an online garage sale, where the valuable items are free or low cost. There have been continual improvements to make the site more user-friendly, including the ability to post photos of listed items.

McClure suggests that, along with the saving landfill space, site visitors can even find bargains for the holiday season.

"Whether you are looking for gifts or want to get rid of gently used items, re-using is the way to go," McClure said. "Part of the gift at 2good2toss is what you're doing for the environment, the community and your wallet."

The ability to post to the www.2good2toss.com site is limited to people within the participating counties and cities, but anyone can browse the site and contact owners directly to make transaction and pick-up arrangements.

There is no restriction on counties and cities joining at any time. Currently, participants include Clark, Columbia, Grays Harbor, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston and Walla Walla counties, as well as the cities of Richland, Shelton, Tacoma and Vancouver.

###

Media contact: Shelly McClure, project coordinator, 360-407-6398
Caitlin Cormier, public information manager, 360-407-6149

2good2toss site: http://www.2good2toss.com

Ecology's solid-waste program: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/index.html