When it comes to clearing out some unwanted items in our homes, we’re often tempted to either sell them or throw them away.
Whether that’s an old sofa or toys that our kids have grown out of, when they are no longer of use, it can be easy to simply get rid of them.
But due to the ongoing cost of living crisis, households across the country are opting to “Freecycle” their unwanted goods instead.
Freecycling is when people choose to give away or swap items to be used by others, to keep unwanted or unusable things from getting thrown away.
One of the most popular ways to freecycle is on Facebook, with hundreds of thousands of people joining groups dedicated to donating items in their community.
Amid inflation and rising interest rates, freecycling is continuing to pick up speed. Google searches for the term “freecycle” have increased by 22% since September 2021, while the number of people searching “free things for new mums” has shot up 1,000% in the last year.
Appetite for free items to help furnish homes has also seen a marked rise, with the terms “free sofa” and “free bed” both seeing a 23% spike in searches over the past year.
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How are communities across the UK supporting each other?
To find out where the top freecycling hotspots are in the UK, Creditfix searched for terms such as ‘London freecycle’ or ‘London free stuff’ to find the most popular freecycle groups in the most populated towns and cities in the UK. We then analysed the membership data of the groups to rank the top 20 areas most popular for freecycling.
Topping the list of the UK’s freecycle hotspots is Manchester, with approximately 84,600 active members in Facebook groups. Interestingly, Google searches for ‘freecycle Manchester’ have seen a 52% surge since September 2021.
With Manchester beating it to the top, London comes in high at second with 78,500 Facebook members opting to join freecycle groups.
Nottingham ranked third, with 71,600 freecycle members, more than double that of Sheffield and Leeds.
Plymouth also makes it into the top five with just over 60,000 members interested in freecycling while the likes of Southampton, Portsmouth and Gloucester all feature in the top 20.
The top 20 UK hotspots for freecycling
| Rank | City/Town | Total Number of members |
| 1 | Manchester | 84,600 |
| 2 | London | 78,500 |
| 3 | Nottingham | 71,600 |
| 4 | Plymouth | 60,100 |
| 5 | Bolton | 43,902 |
| 6 | Brighton | 42,500 |
| 7 | Belfast | 42,200 |
| 8 | Leicester | 38,600 |
| 9 | Stoke-on-Trent | 36,229 |
| 10 | Northampton | 33,421 |
| 11 | Sheffield | 31,195 |
| 12 | York | 30,900 |
| 13 | Derby | 29,700 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 28,315 |
| 15 | Bournemouth (and Poole) | 25,600 |
| 16 | Reading | 25,000 |
| 17 | Leeds | 23,945 |
| 18 | Gloucester | 22,692 |
| 19 | Portsmouth | 21,873 |
| 20 | Southampton | 21,800 |
Commenting on the research, Layla Johnson, regional manager at Creditfix said:
“It’s heart-warming to see that even in the toughest of times, people are putting their best foot forward and helping others where they can.
“Through communities like these, people are able to reduce waste on items they don’t want or need like fridges, sofas and even school uniforms, for someone who may have a use.
“The cost of living crisis is hitting households hard right across the country, but groups like these can ease the burden for some when needed.”
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Methodology
Creditfix used Facebook group membership data by searching for terms such as ‘London freecycle’ or ‘London free stuff’, to find the most popular freecycle groups in the top 50 most populated towns and cities in the UK. Creditfix then added the total number of members in each group to get an overall number for each city and ranked them in a top 20 list.
All group data was approximated by Facebook to the nearest hundred. Data on Google searches was taken from Google Keyword Planner.
All data is correct as of 5th October 2022
Top 100 Cities and Towns in the UK by Population
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