Hardware Donations

This page is out-of-date and needs to be updated.--Elizabethwt 01:10, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

When someone wants to donate a computer or related item to Free Geek, they do so in Receiving, or Hardware Donations. This area is run by volunteers and overseen by staff. There is a Receiving calendar now available for pre-notification of hardware donations staff and volunteers.

What you can learn here

Hardware identification
Mouse, speaker, and keyboard testing
The names of various cables and cords

Assisting The Donor

Ask if they're here to make a donation. Direct them to the store or front desk if they are not.
Help them unload.
As they unload, fill out a tally sheet, indicating quantity of each type of item they are donating.
There are no longer fees for monitors or TVs, unless the donation meets certain criteria (See: Ewaste Training)
Give them the tally sheet and direct them to the donation desk.
Finally, thank them for donating! They are the first step to keeping e-waste out of landfills.

Talking To Donors About The Fate Of Their Stuff

General policy: don't tell donors that their stuff is going to be recycled unless they specifically ask. When donors learn that their stuff is going to be recycled, it can cause problems as donors are attached to their stuff.
If the donor asks, stay factual. "We try to use everything we can use, but if we can't we recycle it in an environmentally responsible way. 25% of computers donated get reused and this is a very high reuse rate for operations such as ours."
Direct them to Goodwill for things that are not part of of our mission and which the donor really wants to be reused: e.g TVs, vacuums, boxes of books

Items we will and will 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.

To see a full list of items that we do and do not accept see the Basic Intake Documentation

What to do when times are slow

While the Hardware Donations area can be hectic sometimes, there are moments when things slow down quite a bit. When this happens, you can work on Slow Time Tasks like these:

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.

For a complete list refer to the When Things are Slow page, http://wiki.freegeek.org/index.php/Slow_Time_Tasks

What about the big donations?

See Handling Corporate Donations at Receiving

Where do the boxes go when they're full?

The work in Receiving is mostly dedicated to sorting donations, once those things have been sorted, they can be taken to different areas in the building to be tested, sold, refurbished or recycled. For a breakdown of where items go after receiving, see Where Full Boxes Go.