What do we want to do?

There are several different dichotomies that help us define what Free Geek is and how we operate. None of these continua are absolute either/or decisions. But if we think about each of them we can narrow down a general direction we have consensus on.

Reuse vs. Recycling

Many people think of Free Geek as primarily a recycling center, but if you look at our Mission Statement and talk to people about the purpose of Free Geek, you'll soon find that recycling is less important to us that reuse. Though our adoption and grant programs and through our various sales activities, we encourage reuse over recycling at every possible point. Of course, by functioning as a recycling center we attract a large stream of incoming gizmos that are fodder for our reuse programs. Imagine two scenarios (neither of which is absolutely possible):

We find a way to magically only get the gizmos we can reuse, so we don't need to have a recycling program anymore. (Other organizations exist to recycle eWaste in a responsible way.)

In this scenario, Free Geek wouldn't have a recycling program per se, but adoption, hardware grants, and sales would all continue to fulfill our mission. We would still be able to educate people about technology in a "hands on" integrated way. This is still very much like the Free Geek we have today, albeit without a recycling program.

Even if we become the best recycling center ever, Free Geek stops reusing gizmos.

Without a reuse component our build and adoption programs would vanish. We might have a way to educate people about technology, but not in the same hands on way we do now. In this scenario Free Geek would change its character dramatically.

Conclusion: Free Geek needs both reuse and recycling programs, but it favors reuse wherever possible. If we have to choose in the future we would prefer to drift towards reuse.

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