WORDS AND PHOTOS BY DANIEL ELKAN

For me, Trashnothing really took off when I gave away a wonky wicker basket. I’d stupidly crushed it against a wall and it now had a weird, permanent 17-degree slant.

Too wonky to sell, too good to throw away. Surely no one would want it, I thought. But the idea of this going to landfill was too much. Fairly new to Trashnothing, I created a post, with a nice photo (important) and an explanation of the reason for the odd slant. Within a day, I’d had four messages. People loved my ‘leaning tower of Pisa.’

The wonky wicker basket, and a variety of things I given away since on Trashnothing, has taught me a valuable lesson: whatever you don’t need, someone somewhere will be able to use.

Raymond, a musician, came and collected the basket. I was so impressed with the result that I posted a story about it on Facebook, as a way to let more people know about Trashnothing. The post clearly struck a chord: lots of likes and comments.

Since then, Raymond has collected sheet music and a huge rice cooker that I was no longer using. We’ve struck up a friendship and he’s come to parties that I’ve had. We are now planning to create some musical events together.

Of course, this story is just one of hundreds created every day, as people donate items via Trashnothing. There’s a stories page on the Trashnothing website where you can share your own stories of what you’ve given or been given, and what’s resulted from it. This is great for inspiring others — whether the gifts are wonky or not!

Photos by Daniel Elkan