FAQS

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How do I post something to give away?
  2. How do I let my co-workers know when I'm looking for something?
  3. How do I let someone know I'm interested in their stuff?
  4. What do I do once someone claims an Item I'm offering?
  5. What is my user profile?
  6. I'm getting too many emails. How can I manage the frequency?
  7. What is the "location" field for?
  8. What is the "company owned" field for?
  9. How do I invite a coworker to join?
  10. How can I help promote Freecycle@Work within my company?
  11. How do I become a moderator of my companies Freecycle@Work community?
  12. What does it mean to be a moderator?
How do I post something to give away?

To post something to give away, click on the blue "Post Something" link that you see when you first log in to Freecycle @ Work (this page is called your dashboard). Then in the "Item" box type the name of the item, and select "Offer" in the "Offer or Wanted" selection. Make sure to note where someone can pick this item up. You may enter other data on this page too, but the rest of the fields are optional. Remember to click the "Save" button when you are done!

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How do I let my co-workers know when I'm looking for something?

To let co-workers know you are looking for something, click on the blue "Post Something" link that you see when you first log in to Freecycle @ Work. Then in the "Item" box type the name of the item, and select "Wanted" in the "Offer or Wanted" selection. Enter more details under "Full Description" so your co-workers will know exactly what you are looking for. Remember to click the "Save" button when you are done!

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How do I let someone know I'm interested in their stuff?

If you see something posted that you are interested in, you respond pretty much the same regardless of whether they have something you want, or they are looking for something that you have. Click on the little "View" link next to the listing on your dashboard. On the bottom of the next page, look for a button that says "Respond to this Listing." In the "Response" box, write them a note with your name and how to reach you. An email will be sent to your co-worker, letting them know of your interest.

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What do I do once someone claims an Item I'm offering?

You'll receive an email letting you know of their interest. You should then contact them via email or phone to arrange a pickup. Once the item is claimed, click on the "Edit" button next to the listing and change the status to "Taken" (for offers) or "Received" (for wanted items).

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What is my user profile?

Your user profile tells Freecycle@Work users a few important things about you. The most important piece is your location. If your company has more than one location, this will let your co-workers know how close they are to you. If you are offering a ream of 3-punched paper, a coworker in the same location as you might be interested, but someone across the globe probably will not be!

Second, your profile tells Freecycle how often you want to be notified of new postings. You can choose to be informed about every post, you can get a summary of new posts once a day, both, or neither. You can also post a photo of yourself in your profile. In a large office, this will help others identify you.

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I'm getting too many emails. How can I manage the frequency?

Click on the dashboard link that says "Edit Your Profile," then look to see what notification options you have checked. If you have checked "Notify me about every new post", you could un-check that and instead select "Send me the Daily Digest" -- that will make sure you only receive one email about new posts every day. You will still be notified automatically every time someone responds to your active posts.

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What is the "location" field for?

This lets your co-workers know if they are in the same location as you and helps them figure out whether they would like to respond to one of your posts. If they are close-by, they will probably be more interested than if they are far away.

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What is the "company owned" field for?

Your office or workgroup may have surplus items which are appropriate to be repurposed in your company, but not appropriate to go home with a coworker. For example, if your office has an extra laptop, you might post it and check "company-owned" to indicate that the laptop can be sent to another office, but can't go home as a birthday present for someone's son or daughter!

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How do I invite a co-worker to join?

On your Freecycle@Work dashboard, click on "Invite Coworkers", and enter their email addresses on the next page. Click on "Send invitations" - that's all there is to it!

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How can I help promote Freecycle@Work within my company?

There are a number of things you can do to promote this great application! For starters, talk to your green team leader(s). If that's you, great! Check out our blog for ideas on motivating employees to engage with sustainability initiatives.

To raise awareness of Freecycle@Work, try using these PowerPoint slides as posters in your workplace to open the conversation with your fellow coworkers.

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How do I become a moderator of my company's Freecycle@Work community?

To become a moderator, click on "Become a Green Leader" on your Freecycle dashboard. On the next page, click on "Request Permission", and on the next page explain why you would like to be a moderator. When you submit that form, an email will be sent to the local administrator of your company's Freecycle@Work. They can then contact you and make you a moderator.

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What does it mean to be a moderator?

Moderators have permissions beyond what is allowed for most users. Moderators can delete old posts, edit posts that have errors in them, and also edit or delete responses to posts and user profiles. Finally, moderators can also create notices that are automatically sent to all users.

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