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COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
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Human Services Agency
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DATE:
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May 26, 2005
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BOARD MEETING DATE:
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June 7,2005
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SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:
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None
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VOTE REQUIRED:
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None
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TO:
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Honorable Board of Supervisors
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FROM:
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Maureen D. Borland, Director, Human Services Agency
Glen H. Brooks, Director, Economic Self-Sufficiency
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SUBJECT:
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ReCompute Project
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RECOMMENDATION:
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Accept a report on the ReCompute project, a collaborative effort of several stakeholders.
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VISION ALIGNMENT:
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Commitment: Create opportunities for every household to participate in our prosperity.
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Goal 17: All households experience real gains in income.
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The collaboration between the County of San Mateo and Goodwill San Francisco contributes to this commitment and goal by providing job opportunities and training for disabled consumers. Additionally, services to the community are provided through the recycling of computers and other donated goods. These items can then be reused in the community thereby reducing the amount of solid waste in San Mateo County.
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BACKGROUND:
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Over the last nine months Goodwill San Francisco (GWSF) and Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) have been working together to bring supported employment opportunities to San Mateo County residents. In September of 2004, the San Mateo County Department of Public Works RecycleWorks requested help in developing a model for reusing old computers and diverting them from the solid waste stream. Ensuing discussions resulted in the ReCompute project, which leverages the resources and capabilities of the three partners.
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DISCUSSION:
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The goal of the ReCompute project is to establish a permanent collection and distribution program for reusing and recycling electronic equipment, such as computers and monitors. This is important to help achieve both environmental and social goals.
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RecycleWorks will handle most of the outreach and will incorporate the program into the overall countywide electronics reuse/recycling outreach campaign. The infrastructure of GWSF’s retail stores and attendant donation centers will provide businesses and residents with a convenient and secure place for donating reusable computer equipment. VRS, along with GWSF, will implement a training program. Consumers will receive training to enable them to perform labor-intensive tasks such as collecting, separating, testing and storing computer equipment for either reuse or recycling.
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The WorkCenter will be the site for a refurbishing lab and will produce one or two models of home computers. These computers will be distributed through the GWFS retail stores at very low costs to the County’s disadvantaged families. Once the project reaches full operating capacity, one-of-a-kind systems will be built to order at competitive costs. All other working equipment will either be made available for reuse as components, or will be recycled by a third party recycler in compliance with environmental laws.
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The overall goals of the ReCompute project are to:
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Reduce the number of disadvantaged individuals without job options by providing transitional employment opportunities within the electronics reuse/recycling sector.
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Improve the quality of the workforce and close the digital divide by assisting persons with little access to technology to acquire low or no cost computers.
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Determine the best entrepreneurial model for a full-scale electronics reuse, refurbishment and recycling operation.
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Divert electronics from landfill.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
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The Goodwill San Francisco will reimburse the County $95,000 per year for the expenses. There is no Net County Cost.
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