How many spare or under-used jackets, walking boots and rucksacks do you have bulging out of cupboards and filling up garages and sheds? Do you have climbing kit, baselayers and ski gloves that you have only worn once, and now favour some other sport or kit entirely? For whatever reasons, from spontaneous buys, to changes of hobbies, to starting a family or losing a couple of stones, us Brits most likely have a massive excess of unused outdoors clothing and kit. I know that the G-Force and I do!

Now there is new way – and thoroughly green – to hand on or exchange all those outdoorsy bits and pieces that you just know you’ll never use again. The  FREE Recycle Outdoor Gear (ROG) website is the brainchild of Sarah Howcroft. The co-founder of Rohan, a long-established UK company producing a range of outdoor gear, Sarah was keen to find a way to efficiently recycle and reuse all the outdoor kit that currently lies unused in our homes – or ends up being thrown out.

Sarah, who is also responsible for Rohantime, home of the Rohan Community,  said: “There is a vast amount of used outdoor kit in the UK that is perfectly serviceable but ends up in landfill. ROG can stop all this wastage and make good kit available to more people.”

 The place to swap, sell or buy outdoor gear

Recycle Outdoor Gear (ROG) is a free of charge, internet-based service, dedicated to helping people to swap, sell, buy or donate unwanted but serviceable used outdoor gear, so long as it is not a weapon of any description and doesn’t have an engine. Even the big stuff, such as canoes, skies, snowboards and tents, are welcome.

ROG also encourages free wanted ads. So if you are looking for a particular item or perhaps would be able to make good use of a particular waterproof, fleece, canoe, snowboard, skis, boots put your own free wanted listing on the service.

If you are looking for gear to be used by a  school, youth group or similar groups encouraging people into the great outdoors, Sarah is keen that you also add an ad or listing to the site.

ROG for good causes

Recycle Outdoor Gear (ROG) is also working hard to increase awareness and understanding of recycling and reuse outdoor gear initiatives by charities. Donating unwanted outdoor gear to a particular charity initiative is an excellent way to ensure its second life potential.

Sarah added:  “I hope to develop ROG into a on- stop service for all activities relevant to recycling and the reuse of outdoor gear. To do this we need information on anything that is happening in your local area that may be of interest to ROG users. Could be a charity or a local organisation that is recycling or  reusing outdoor gear.

“We also need everybody to drag out from lofts, garages and all the places that we keep unused outdoor gear and get it on ROG. It’s so easy and it’s free.”

Right… I’m off to put my snowboard and boots on to ROG. And that’s just for starters…