Basic Intake Documentation

When someone wants to donate a computer or related item to Free Geek, they do so in Receiving. This area is run by volunteers and overseen by members of the Free Geek staff (the Reuse Coordinators). There is a Receiving calendar now available for pre-notification of Receiving staff and volunteers.

What you can learn here

• Hardware identification
• Mouse, speaker, and keyboard testing

First, meet the donor

1. Ask if they're here to make a donation. Direct them to the store or front desk if they are not.
2. Remind them that we have a $10 fee for monitors.
3. Help them unload.
4. As they unload, fill out a tally sheet, indicating quantity of each type of item they are donating.
5. Give them the tally sheet and direct them to the front desk.
6. Finally, thank them for donating! They are the first step to keeping e-waste out of landfills.

Items we do not accept

There are certain items that people might try to donate that we do not accept. You can suggest that people contact Metro Recycling Information Center at (503) 234-3000 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday for instructions on how to properly dispose of these items.

Photocopiers
Major Appliances
Microwaves
Smoke Detectors
Styrofoam
Televisions
Batteries (we do take laptop batteries and UPSes)

Items that we do accept

• Most items can be put away in boxes in receiving. Some need to be moved elsewhere in the building. See map for details.
• If there are a lot of donations coming in, concentrate big items like monitors, systems, and printers first.
• Filling out a tally sheet is important for Free Geek's database - that's how we log how many items we have collected from the community!

Systems	Evaluation 1
CRT Monitors	Keepers go in monitor testing in the warehouse. Recyclers monitors go in the gaylord outside.
Printers	See printer triage. Keepers go in printerland in the warehouse. Recyclers go in the gaylord outside. Remove plastic and printer cartridges before recycling.
Scanners	Scanners with all of their cords go to printerland. Scanners without cords get recycled in the gaylord outside.
Speakers	Testing
Keyboards	Testing
Mice	Testing
Laptops	Give to a staff member
Apple Hardware	Mac shelf
Cards and Motherboards	Card and motherboard sorting
Floppy Drives	Recycle
CD-ROM Drives	Recycle
CD-RW and DVD Drives	Evaluation 2
Floppy Disks	"Data disks" box.
CD-ROMs	Destroy and put in "CD" box.
VCRs and DVD Players	A/V Box.
Stereo Systems	A/V Box.
Telephones	Recycle
Cell Phones	Give to staff member.
Cords and Wall-warts	Phone, network, and printer cables get recycled. Ask a staff member to help you identify these. All else ask a staff member.

Anything else

There are thousands of devices that can be incorporated into a computer that are not listed here. We take all of them. Additionally, there are many types of non-computer equipment that we do take. If you don't know what they do, ask a staff member.

What to do when times are slow

• Wrap cords, count them, and pack them in a box. Label box with quantity and type of cord when full.
• Clean up. Often there are abandoned cardboard boxes to break down and put away, sweeping up to be done, etc.
• Move receiving boxes to their designated areas - e.g. advanced testing box to advanced testing, steel box to recycling.

What about the big donations?

See Handling Corporate Donations at Receiving