New Ways To Get Stuff Free!

New Ways To Get Stuff Free! 28-4-7 If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. But when it comes to the Minnesota Materials Exchange (MME) and dozens of other similar organizations around the country, what you hear is true: you can get tons of free stuff just for the asking. Just ask Kevin Smith. Thanks to the MME, his pigs once got their fill of passion fruit, kiwi fruit and strawberry fruit filling when Smith got a couple semi loads of the stuff. Another time, the Zumbrota, Minn., farmer picked up a load of potato flakes and corn starch. Funded by state and local governments, organizations like MME help find homes for unwanted materials. A recent listing on the MME website included buckets, bags, boxes and even a barn. While some items have a fee attached, others are free, as is the service. If you know what you want, you can even place a wanted note on the site. "There are many programs like ours around the country, but no national organization," says Barb Nesheim, one of several MME coordinators. "We used to print lists of what we have, but there isn't enough funding, so we ask people to call or use our website." In one recent month, more than 40 items were listed as available including a free adding machine with tape. Another 50 listings from people looking for items included children's chairs, art supplies and even a motorized wheelchair. While asking for a specific item might seem like a long shot, Nesheim says it does work. "I had a woman who requested a chicken plucker," she recalls. "I didn't know what one even looked like. Two weeks later she emailed me that she had received one." More common items are office furniture and materials used for shipping, such as packing peanuts and cardboard boxes. One man who uses the list takes any wood item, especially pallets, and grinds them up for mulch. Hog farmer Smith has been feeding byproducts for about 10 years using a Big Dutchman liquid feed system. He mixes in whatever he gets through MME with ice cream waste and other items he gets from local food processors. The byproducts help lower his feed cost for the 3,000 head of pigs he markets each year. "Usually I don't find anything suitable on the list, but when I do, I haven't had to pay for it," says Smith. Even when you don't find just what you are looking for, what you do find on the list can get the mind racing. There must be something 6 to 8-ft. rigid cardboard tubes could be used for, or how about a pile of cardboard drums? "The exchanges like ours are great for people with a creative eye and the ability to tinker," says Nesheim. "Our basic goal is to keep good things in use and out of landfills. It saves both parties money and saves space in the landfill." To see a list of exchanges, visit www.wastexchange.org for a list of nearly 100 websites and exchanges in the U.S., Canada and a number of other countries. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Barb Nesheim, Minnesota Materials Exchange, University of Minnesota Gateway Center, 200 Oak Street SE, Suite 350, Minneapolis, Minn. 55455û2008 (ph 612 624-1300; greater Minn. 800 247-0015; email: bnesheim@umn.edu; website: www.mnexchange.org).

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