Gross Miscalculations on the Nett

Okay, I now have some insight into the way that TFN calculates how much is saved from landfill. If you have not read my previous blog on this 40-tonnes-per-day-only-a-slight-exaggeration then I recommend reading that and then coming back here. In essence I feel that the best way to calculate the amount saved from landfill is based on the number of posts, or more correctly a proportion of that since not all posts are valid, also there are duplications and so forth.

Besides that my other main point is that the amount saved from landfill is definitely not proportional to the number of members. In fact the more I think about this it is about the worst indicator possible. My previous blog entry commented that the number of posts does not rise proportionally to the number of members, in fact the number of posts reaches a saturation point.

On fcnext also there has been some discussion around how many unique and real freecycling members a group has. What we are saying is that one must remove duplicates, and people who are there for administration purposes. There are a number of other reasons, and to give you an idea of where this can go, one group suggested that only 80% of members were real freecyclers (or was it 20%!)

Sadly, very sadly TFN use in fact the worst possible model. They base their calculations on number of members. It’s almost like saying the number of miles travelled by all the coaches in a bus company is proportional to the number of miles for all passengers. Basically the TFN calculator provides a gross overestimation no matter which way you add it up.

Don’t take my word for it – try the TFN Calculator out for yourself .