Freegans, hero or cheapo?

[SGCM928]

Disclaimer: I don't hold anything against freegans, but if they are overly desperate in  hunting for free stuff and even work lesser, the line may be crossed.

If everyone stop spending, will the world not stop moving? Afterall, all these free stuff come for someone else pocket, and I wonder if taboo applies to these group of "free" thinker. 

Commentary: Living in Singapore doesn't have to be so expensive when you're a freegan

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/freegan-food-rescue-waste-lifestyle-cost-living-sustainability-2753251

SINGAPORE: With the cost of food and petrol increasing on a weekly basis, every conversation with friends is sure to touch on inflation. 

Sometimes I am shy to admit I have not felt it at all, because my expenses have not increased in the past five years.

Yet life has only gotten more abundant. At home, our fridge is full of fresh vegetables and fruits, sourced from food rescues where we collect “ugly” but edible produce from shopkeepers.

Our cupboards are full of canned food and condiments, gathered from cafes and restaurants that have shut down. 

We have more soap and shampoo than some provision shops stock, enough for maybe a decade of use. We have a brand new CorningWare gifted from a family after spring cleaning and a Rommelsbacher 40L oven picked up from a void deck. 

As freegans, we collect things other people no longer want, to reuse or repurpose for our own needs. We limit our participation in the conventional economy as much as we can to save the environment and our expenses.

Freeganism originated in San Francisco in the 1990s and has since spread globally. Our Facebook group Freegan In Singapore has grown to 10,000 members since I co-founded the movement in 2017.

Alongside the growing popularity of freeganism is rising concern about our carbon and waste footprint. According to a study by the Institute of Policy Studies published in 2021, three in five Singaporeans believe protecting the environment should be prioritised over economic growth.

However, making more sustainable choices is not always cheap. Vegan and fair-trade foods and clothes tend to be more expensive than their regular counterparts. So are electric cars, even with incentives and rebates.

But the freegan lifestyle marries sustainable and frugal living through its emphasis on reducing consumption. Each item you buy comes from a long supply chain that uses up resources and produces waste at every stage, even if those products are sustainably sourced. 

Take for example an audio store owner whom I recently met. He needs to keep a surplus stock of earphones to provide exchanges for customers claiming their warranty. After a few years as warranty periods lapse, the remaining stock is discarded.

That’s how I ended up receiving a hundred boxes of brand-new earphones. Multiply this by the number of businesses in Singapore, big and small, and it’s no wonder the country’s non-domestic sector generated 5.12 million tonnes of waste in 2021. 

But freegans don’t always strive to cut waste out of a passion for the environment. Some have a much more pragmatic reason – to reduce personal expenditure.

I used to spend S$2,000 a month in my pre-freegan days. Now my necessary monthly expenses have dropped to just S$350, including insurance. As I eat mainly rescued food, I’ve lowered my food costs from $500 a month to zero, not counting the occasional birthday treat at a restaurant for a loved one. I am also a lot healthier as the variety of food I eat has expanded.

I don’t remember when I last stepped into a shopping mall because I’ve been able to get items on my wishlist for free. What I spend on entertainment has plummeted because all my favourite leisure activities cost nothing: Communing with nature, visiting our island’s many parks and beaches, volunteering with social causes, and enjoying meals made from rescued food with friends.

My one luxury is travelling. Before the pandemic, I was travelling five to six times a year – much more frequently compared to the one or two yearly trips in my pre-freegan days.

This was due to having not only more disposable income but more free time. Because freegans spend less, we aren’t as pressured to earn more. Full-timers become part-timers. Dual-income households become single-income. Some choose to retire early, like I did three years ago.

Freegans believe the price of making money is too costly, because we buy money with our limited time alive. Think about it: In any kind of paid work, you are exchanging your lifetime for cash. Some squander it on impulse purchases, meaning they need to spend more lifetime to earn more money. 

I would rather spend four to five hours of my lifetime each week collecting things I need than spend 40 to 50 hours each week earning money to buy the very same things.

With that time saved, freegans can focus on activities that matter to them. This could be making art or writing, growing plants to beautify the surroundings and improve mental health, or building communities where members look out for each other. 

We rediscover the hobbies we enjoyed before a money-centric world taught us we had to monetise what we like to do or drop it. We no longer sell irreplaceable lifetime to buy replaceable material goods.

When so many things we need can be acquired for free, there is little else we absolutely need to spend money on – meaning that the cost of living in Singapore doesn’t have to be sky high. What many people find expensive could be the cost of lifestyle instead.

Edited June 18, 2022 by SGCM928
Edit title.

[Inlinefour]

Reduce reuse recycle 👍👍👍

[Etnt]

All these ‘free’ stuff come from someone/somewhere that paid for it

[SGCM928]

Just now, Etnt said:

All these ‘free’ stuff come from someone/somewhere that paid for it

Exactly my point. If everyone thinks like them and stopped working, where will these 'free' stuff come from? 

24 minutes ago, SGCM928 said:

I would rather spend four to five hours of my lifetime each week collecting things I need than spend 40 to 50 hours each week earning money to buy the very same things.

This is one statement which make me feel that the fine line have been crossed.

[Alg]

I think is really good. If you see with your own eyes how much edible food Pasir Panjang throw away everyday you will appreciate these people who recused them and give them away to those who might need them.

[SGCM928]

25 minutes ago, Inlinefour said:

Reduce reuse recycle 👍👍👍

These 3Rs are what most of us have been doing, from a simple thing like reusing a plastic bag from grocery shopping for keeping trash, reusing dabao container for your next meal, and passing things that we no longer need to others. 

But freegans go around hunting for free stuffs, from food to appliances (as seen in the above article). In hokkien, we call them gian png. 

[Victor68]

Sustainability is great but once you blow it out of proportion, it is more waste than before. How to balance this will be the key. Learn from animals 😛

[Voodooman]

Cheapo definitely. If he stops travelling 5-6 times a year, I would have more respect for him and call him a hero.

[Volvobrick]

50 minutes ago, Alg said:

I think is really good. If you see with your own eyes how much edible food Pasir Panjang throw away everyday you will appreciate these people who recused them and give them away to those who might need them.

I support them if they repair and reuse things I discard.  Save the earth! 

 

(But economy will suffer and ministar celery will be cut! )

[Vid]

This mentality is dangerous - "Because freegans spend less, we aren’t as pressured to earn more."

[Mkl22]

Wonder what the editors were thinking allowing for such an article to be written and publishing it. 

[Confusedboi]

the main point is lamestream media is trying to paint picture that Singapore is not as expensive as it seems to live in if you willing to be freegan.

Perhaps they want to downplay the fact that inflation is hitting many sectors of society hard and people are struggling with rising prices.

 

 

[Sosaria]

The pandemic changed people's value system , previously we all toiled as wage slaves unquestioningly. Now more people are taking a step back and wondering why work too hard beyond what is necessary to remain employed?

At cost to mental health and personal pursuits.

What we do and how much effort put into job, succeed/fail is not important. If we just disappeared off the face of the Earth tomorrow, the organisation we work for will still carry on and continue. Something to think about.

[Ender]

Don't feel any line is crossed. Their life their choice. They may work less, do they burden the society claiming grants and subsidy? Didn't mention, but if they don't, I am fine with this non wasteful lifestyle. 

[Jman888]

24 minutes ago, Vid said:

This mentality is dangerous - "Because freegans spend less, we aren’t as pressured to earn more."

it will encourage more young people to lie flat and do nothing productive, 躺平。 same goes to young people asking for work life balance.

[Benarsenal]

I disagree. We don't owe people our money. If I choose not to spend that is my perogative (likewise if I do spend).

I can easily give up something of my own to others too. No monetary exchange need to be involved.

[Jman888]

why is this even a topic that the writer got enlightened and thinks is so special? every now and then so many of these 'free, life, sleep, eat, play, sex' poping out like it's a newly discovered lifestyle.

tomorrow I will start a freesex topic, wait... I think better not

 

[Fitvip]

There is one regular freegan at Pasir Ris Park. He would cycle to the park with and big plastic pail hung on the handle bar and a pair of tongs. 

I was told by a park cleaner that he collects charcoal for his orchid plants. But he does not collect charcoal alone. He searches the bins and picks up anything that is useful, including unfinished tissue  packs.