There are two kinds of trash. Garbage, which is harmful, and we get rid of as soon as we can. "Garbage day", "Take the garbage out.", "Don't forget the garbage."
Then there's junk. Junk is not harmful and we like to keep it just in case we ever need it. "Junk drawer", "Junkyard", even "Junk DNA"
But eventually, the junk builds up and you have to do something about it. When that time comes, how do you avoid turning your potentially useful junk into landfill clogging garbage?
The answer is: Freecycling.
Freecycing (which, BTW, is a trademark of The Freecycling Network. There's some controversy about that) is just an on-line way to find people who think your trash could be their treasure.
It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free.
Each local group consists of a Yahoo mailing group and a moderator. You send e-mail offering your junk to the group. Pretty much anything you want to get rid of, someone will take it.
People offer big ticket items, like furniture and clothing, old appliances and other things that aren't worth posting on eBay or Craig's List or are too big to ship, but are still usable.
Then there's the stuff you'd never think someone else would want. Like half a bag of kitty litter, 20 coffee filters or a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces. No one would drive across town for this kind of junk, but if people realize they live close to each other or pass each other on their way to work, even that stuff gets taken.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.