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MISSION
COMPUTER ADOPTION
You can earn a Linux computer of your very own in our computer adoption program. If you are willing to donate 24 hours of your time, helping us to run our recycling operation, we will give you a computer and class on how to use it. To get started, come in for a tour of our facilities. We will demonstrate the work required, show you the type of computer you will earn, and sign you up for your first volunteer shift.
COMPUTER BUILDING
You can learn how to build computers by participating in our Build Program. Please come in for a tour of our facilities, and we'll sign you up after the tour.
GENERAL VOLUNTEERING
You are welcome to volunteer outside of our two main programs. There is a lot of potential for learning at Free Geek, as it is a very hands-on environment. We need help with teaching, programming, providing technical support, grant writing, day-to-day operations, and other tasks. Experience with computers or Linux is a plus, but not required. General volunteers need to be relatively independent workers.
THRIFT STORE
Free Geek's primary mission is to get "free" computers to our members. However, we do have quantities of various items in stock that far exceed our capacity to use in our production program.
TOURS
We require that all potential volunteers take a tour of our facilities before signing up so they may better acquaint themselves with our programs. We offer tours at Noon and 6 pm, Tuesday through Saturday.
RECYCLING
WHAT WE ACCEPT
We accept the donation of any computer equipment, in any condition. Non-functioning and obsolete computers and scrap parts will be recycled.
If you are donating a broken computer or a computer older than a Pentium II or Apple Power PC, we ask for a voluntary donation for each computer to help offset our processing costs. There is a fee of $10.00 per monitor, working or not. No exceptions.
If you wish to donate large quantities of equipment (more than 25 systems) please call us for an appointment.
Sorry, we do not pick up donations at this time.
E-WASTE DIVERTED
Approximately 1,800 tons of computer and electronic waste has been diverted from the landfill, including 50,000 computers and 35,000 monitors.
REUSE BEFORE RECYCLING
7,000 computer systems and 7,000 monitors have been put back into use in the local community and around the world. This includes over 1,000 computer systems granted to non-profit organizations.
RECYCLING TAKES CARE OF THE REST
Free Geek has helped to recover the recyclable materials from over 1,000 tons of e-scrap. We process approximately 35 tons of material every month.
COMMUNTY SERVICE
10,500 people have volunteered in Free Geek programs. Together they have amassed over 175,000 hours of community service helping Free Geek fulfill its mission.
Statistics from November 2000 to December 2005.
PROGRAMS
RESULTS
Free Geek recycles used technology, in order to provide computers, education, access to the Internet and job skills training to those in need in exchange for community service.
THE PROBLEMS
The technology revolution benefits many, but it also creates two serious problems. First, computers manufactured today have a very short life cycle. Large numbers of computers are deemed obsolete within two years and discarded. In 2002, the Metro region generated 4,597 tons of e-waste and recovered only 16%. Reuse and responsible recycling is the best process for the environment, capable of recovering over 99% of the materials for reuse. Without recycling, this discarded technology often ends up in landfills, creating potentially disastrous results for the environment.
The second problem stemming from advances in computer technology is that many people lack even the most basic computer skills. This can deny them access to everything from getting on the Internet to getting a better job. In 1999 the U.S. Commerce Department reported that households with incomes of $75,000 and higher were twenty times more likely to have access to the Internet than households at the lowest income levels and nine times as likely to have a computer in the home. In 2000, the median income of a family of four in the Portland area was $53,703. Technological advances are only going to accelerate in the coming years, resulting in more people being left behind.
THE FREE GEEK SOLUTION
The concept behind Free Geek is to
use these problems to solve each
other. A significant portion of com-
puters bound for the landfills can be
refurbished into working computers
for those who cannot afford them.
Individuals with little or no disposable
income can be trained to help process
the diverted computers for reuse or
recycling, receiving one of the refurb-
ished computers in exchange for their
efforts. The result is less computer
equipment in the land-fills and more
equipment being reused. In addition,
a wide range of people get access
to education, computers and the
Internet that previously did not have it.