Recycling plan

Intro
How will Recycling change over the next 3-5 years so that Free Geek can better fulfill its mission and live up to its principles?

State of the program
Recycling is the place where all the equipment goes that can't be reused. In Recycling this stuff gets taken apart and sorted into different commodities that then get send to vendors for further recycling. Recycling generates some income for Free Geek and provides a places for 24hour Adoption volunteers to work and learn.

Current and past issues
Past and current issues are related to vendor verification. We do our best to only use vendors that do the "right " thing, but without a complete audit of their practices it is almost impossible. The biggest issue has been and will be for the forseeable future is the proper recycling of toxic materials present in CRTs, and other items. One issue slowly creeping up on us is the recycling of LCD monitors and laptop screens(mercury bulbs).

Trends and predictions
Upcoming trends that may affect the Recycling program include the possible change in donations because of the Ewaste legislation. Also, as new gadgets appear on the market, they will appear on our door step and we will need to find new ways of recycling these gadgets. These will include little gadgets with LCD screens, harder to take apart items(because of size), and unknown materials inside them. Recycling might take on a smaller role in the overall workings of Free Geek, and could turn into just packing and shipping of materials to vendors.