The Free Trade section of the Dublin Waste Website was launched on Thursday 17th August at the Mansion House in Dublin.

Press Release
Thursday 17^th August 2006:         The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Vincent Jackson, today launched “Free Trade”, an innovative new online service that helps Dublin householders obtain and pass-on goods for free such as furniture, stereos, baby products, garden items, books, clothes and lots more.  The “Free Trade” service is hosted on the website, www.DublinWaste.ie and run by the four Dublin Local Authorities.  They are confident that their new service will encourage people to reuse items instead of throwing them away and therefore reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

“Now that we have established a strong network of recycling facilities in Dublin and the public are actively recycling, we are moving our focus to encouraging people to reuse as well,” said the Lord Mayor.

“People moving house or re-decorating often want to change their suite of furniture or TV but can’t trade-in the old one and that’s where www.DublinWaste.ie comes in.  The website allows them to advertise item(s) for free and advises on how to make contact with prospective new owners,” says Hugh Coughlan, Senior Executive Officer, Dublin City Council.

 ·To advertise an item, log onto www.DublinWaste.ie, click on the Free Trade banner and follow the simple instructions.

 ·Those who are looking for items can browse the site as often as they wish and when interested in an item they simply phone or email the advertiser to arrange collection or delivery.

“We envisage Free Trade being very popular among first time buyers, students and landlords, but we would encourage everybody in Dublin who is looking for household goods to check out www.DublinWaste.ie before rushing out to spend money on new goods because everything on the site is usually in good condition and is absolutely free,” said Hugh Coughlan.  “Already there are some items advertised and we envisage the Baby and Electrical sections to get very busy as the service becomes widely known about.”

There are over 20 categories of household items on the site.  There is also advice for users to be sensible and take precautions when making arrangements to meet strangers to collect or hand-over goods. The website and Free Trade service is supported by the DublinWaste.ie team who can be contacted by phone (01-6676880) or by email at info@dublinwaste.ie

ENDS.