Freecycle, a global phenomenon, has almost 5,000 Ulster members and is rapidly expanding, mainly through word-of-mouth.

The ‘free eBay’ offers people the chance to offload unwanted household items which would otherwise be dumped and supplies second-hand goods to people unable to afford to buy new or who just want to save money.

A set of golf clubs, beds, parrots, CD players, alloy wheels and electric cookers are among scores of items currently offered on the site.

Newtownabbey man David McKeen said he was “delighted” with the new bathroom he received free through the site.

“By giving it to me for nothing it saved the owner having to pay for it to be taken away and dumped, so everybody benefited,” he said.

“It was only a few years old and when I went to collect it the man told me it was much nicer than the new one his wife had ordered so it would have been a shame to have seen it dumped.”

Belfast City Council waste manager Martin Doherty said it was a good idea which the council was keen to promote.

“It’s a wonderful step forward and I have used the site quite a lot,” he said.

“While I think the idea could do with some refinement, it has a wonderful social aspect quite apart from what you can receive and give away.

“I have given away quite a lot of stuff, including a redundant bike rack for my old car which I had no further use for.”

Robert Elliott, from the Crumlin Road in Belfast, has used the site for several months. He said it had been “a huge help” to his family.

“I think Freecycle is the best way to help people who are unable, for whatever reason, to get items which they need or want,” he said.

“I have a five-year-old daughter who wanted a pet and last week we got her a hamster from someone through Freecycle. We have also received a TV for the front room which was a big help.

“It certainly saves unwanted items being flytipped, dumped or left to gather dust. And I feel it brings people and communities closer together when one person helps another.”

Danny Sinclair, a governor of Rowendale Integrated Primary School in Moira, said items received through the site had been a huge help in getting the new school off the ground

The school, which opened in September, now has desks and chairs as well as paint on the walls, thanks to people who offered them on the Freecycle website.

“The answer to our prayers came when an eco-conscious caretaker from another school realised that its chairs and desks – which would otherwise have been confined to landfill – might be useful to other people,” she said.

“We have also been able to allocate the money that our school would otherwise have had to spend on these items to much better use.”

l The Belfast Freecycle group is online at http://uk.groups. yahoo.com/group/ belfastUKfreecycle