Turns out that some things in life are free. Just ask anyone who had taken part in Swapsity’s Eco-Swap events. September 25, 2011 is the upcoming date where people can bring unwanted but gently used movies or music to Toronto’s Kensington Market and either drop them off, or take something that appeals to them – without spending a dime.
Old Fashioned Barter for New(ish) Entertainment
Why swap goods instead of buying? Everyone has some old films or CD’s cluttering up their shelves, while still looking for that one illusive favourite film, or hard-to-find recording. If nothing else, getting rid of unwanted DVD’s, or LP’s means more room in your home, and preventing stuff from winding up in a landfill. This past summer’s Swapsity event at the live Green Toronto Festival averted 3,327 items from a landfill, and left 975 remaining unwanted items donated to Goodwill. SwapSity calculated the participants’ collective savings that day at $18,000.
How To Participate to Get Free Goods
For those who are interested in taking part in this year’s outdoor swap-meet, bring as many gently-used original discs as you can to Kensington Market, in downtown Toronto. (Sorry, your mix tapes and VCR recordings of old TV shows don’t count – they are considered copyright violations, even if you are not selling them for cash.)The Swapsity’ Swap Zone is located at Augusta and Wales Avenue. Participants will receive one swap token for each item they drop off, which serves as “swap currency”.
Swapsity informs all potential participants that all media is considered of equal value; you can trade an old LP in exchange for a Blu-Ray, and you can swap an old CD for any DVD that catches your eye. As no cassettes are accepted for this event, they recommend that you find the nearest recycling zone that will accept your old tapes. The Swap Zone runs from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Event details and swapping guidelines are available at www.Swapsity.ca
Environmental Advantages to Bartering
This event is probably one of the easiest ways to recycle media; many unwanted goods like CD’s often wind up in a recycling bin. While recycling is good, it uses a lot of energy to wash, and convert the plastics found in CD’s into other re-usable goods, like fleece or shopping bags. For those stray discs that do make their way to the garbage, they can take hundreds of years to completely decompose.
For those who can’t make it to this weekend’s event, all is not lost: Swapsity is a Toronto-based online swapping community “dedicated to building a more collaborative, consumption-conscious and sustainable lifestyle through barter.” Toronto residents can visit Swapsity to swap virtually any item, skill or service with like-minded Canadians for free, online or at any of their face-to-face swap meets.
Naomi Szeben - Six-time Editor's Choice Award winner Naomi Szeben puts life into "green and simple living" articles for Suite 101.com. She graduated ...
