Today I stumbled across Freecycle, an online goods exchange. Freecycle aims to help people "reduce, reuse, and recycle" stuff they already have but don't use by giving it to people who need it. It's the information age equivalent of giving your extra rake to your neighbor when his breaks. There are exchange message boards for just about every town and city in the U.S. Recent posts to the Columbia group include a request for bedroom furniture and an offer of computer peripherals.

For businesses, South Carolina WasteXchange serves the same purpose, allowing businesses to use other businesses' leftover supplies.