A new scheme has just been launched by the local authorities in the greater Dublin area intended to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill sites.

Under this scheme, people getting rid of old stuff (furniture, clothes, electronic goods, etc) that they’d otherwise have thrown out can advertise it on the website for free and people can come and collect it for nothing.

Now, that’s the general idea so, being a bit of a scavenger by nature and free being my favourite word, I jumped on the opportunity to research this. I got on the website and although small (it’s still in its infancy) there was a wide range of free bits and pieces people were getting rid of from Ralph Lauren shirts, computers, couches to TVs.

I was delighted with my little discovery and had my heart set on a 32-inch colour television for the flat which I was going to go out and collect and bring back on the bus if I had to. I had romantic notions of how we would spend the cold, wet winter nights together. Just me and my big TV. So I phoned up the number on the website and to my horror the voice on the other end of the line told me they were selling it. Shattering stuff! I definitely wasn’t paying for something that I had in my head was going to be given to me for nothing.

Ah well, back to my old reliable 21-inch. It hasn’t let me down yet! Hope you have better luck than me!

Go to www.dublinwaste.ie and click on FREETRADE.