Free office furniture and equipment for businesses in Nevada County, CA, north of Sacramento are just a few mouse clicks away on the PC.


It's all thanks to a free online listing provided by the Nevada County Economic Resource Council, an organization that also provides a variety of other free services for local businesses.

"We just try to hook people up," said Barbara Campbell, an administrative assistant for the nevada County ERC.

The service is seen as an extension of the county's emphasis on recycling, said Campbell.

Companies going out of business or seeking to discard office furniture or equipment are encouraged to contact the ERC so the materials can be listed and potentially reused by another business instead of being thrown away.

Recently Campbell posted desks, office partitions and computer monitors left over from a county auction. Companies and organizations can also post needed items on the site in hopes someone with the equipment will want to donate.

The site also provides a link to the Nevada County Materials Exchange, part of the statewide California Materials Exchange, a free online classified for "potentially reusable or recyclable business discards", according to an e-mail from the site's administrator.

The statewide exchange offers materials in a variety of categories from "construction" to "electronics" listed by county through a searchable database, and free ads for needed material are accepted from anywhere in the world though only California businesses can list materials.

The service offers a tremendous opportunity for bootstrappers seeking to save money on start-up and efforts probably should be made to replicate it elsewhere.