Packrats Hooked on Freecycling
Series: Your Choice; Your Planet series
From: The Environment Report
Length: 00:04:46
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Piece Description
"Packrats Hooked on Freecycling" looks at a new Internet trend in dealing with the junk we buy, but don't really need. Rebecca Williams offers a fresh take on this problem in our over-consumptive society. She found a network of givers and takers for all that stuff we have. We follow Rebecca as she tries to get rid of a SCUBA wetsuit (no she doesn't SCUBA dive)and find a home where it will get used. Like any good reporter, she's skeptical about this "Freecycling" idea, but tries it out first hand. It's a fun piece. This is the second piece in the "Your Choice; Your Planet" series offered by the Great Lakes Radio Consortium. It was first offered to GLRC stations in May. It is not dated.
Broadcast History
First offered to GLRC stations in May 2004. Is not dated.
Transcript
We all have things that we no longer use hidden in our closets, or stuffed away in the attic, or crammed into the garage. It's not that we'll ever use them, but we can't bear to just throw them away. They're still good. Now, a new service is matching up people who want to get rid of things with people who want those things. In part of an ongoing series called 'Your Choice; Your Planet,' the Great Lakes Radio Consortium's Rebecca Williams explores freecycling:
I'm a packrat. I just wanted to make that clear right from the beginning. If you're honest with yourself, you'll probably confess you're a packrat too.
But even I know when there's something taking up space in my house that HAS to go. In the back of my closet, there's a large, heavy, men's wetsuit.
You know, a SCUBA diving suit. A relative gave it to me when he moved away. Now, I'm not a diver. I'm not even really a snor...
Read the full transcript
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Michael Krall
Posted on November 04, 2004 at 01:08 PM | Permalink
Review of Packrats Hooked on Freecycling
This is a solid story told in a fun, very light hearted way. The reporter has good writing, decent delivery and makes good use of some natural sound.
Two minor quibbles:
IMO, what would have made this story really jump out would have been to put the nat sound of the actual freecycle transaction at the beginning of the story, then go back and tell us how we got to that point.
Also, hearing the reporter's doubts about freecycling, and byte with an outside expert, almost made this a business story that you'd hear on Marketplace. Nothing's wrong with that, I'm just not sure it's ultimately the right angle for what up until this point is a soft feature.