HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 12-12-23; 8-i - Computer Surplus Declaration and Donation to Triangle Ecycling 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: December 12, 2023
Action Agenda
Item No. 8-i
SUBJECT: Computer Surplus Declaration and Donation to Triangle Ecycling
DEPARTMENT: County Manager's Office,
Asset Management Services,
Information Technologies,
Solid Waste Management
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
Resolution Approving the Donation of Amy Eckberg, (919) 245-2626
Surplus, Obsolete, or Unused County Steven Arndt, 919-245-2658
Equipment to Triangle Ecycling Robert Reynolds, 919-245-2276
Robert Williams, 919-918-4904
PURPOSE: To approve and authorize the Chair to sign a resolution declaring items listed below
as surplus and authorizing the donation of those items to the non-profit Triangle Ecycling.
BACKGROUND: In 2015 and 2018, Orange County donated surplus computers and their
peripheral equipment (computer keyboards, mice, monitors, etc.) to the Chapel Hill Carrboro City
Schools (CHCCS) to help the school system launch a computer reuse and training program.
CHCCS worked with Triangle Ecycling, which was then a local for-profit company, to help manage
the program and train high school students in computer repair. The donation was made with the
understanding that any computer equipment that could not be refurbished or re-used for this
program would be returned to Orange County Solid Waste to be responsibly recycled. All the
equipment in that initial donation was reusable. With the County's donation and that of other public
and private entities, the program has been successful.
Triangle Ecycling has since become a 501c3 nonprofit. The organization collects surplus
electronics and uses them in its own program to train high school students to refurbish them for
reuse.
In 2021, Orange County donated outdated computers directly to Triangle Ecycling.
Orange County Information Technologies has another round of surplus computer equipment that
is ready for donation, and staff is seeking Board approval to donate these computers to Triangle
Ecycling for the benefit of local students and residents. Pursuant to North Carolina General
Statute 160A-280, the County Board of Commissioners may donate County property to an
incorporated nonprofit organization. The proposed donation would be made with the
understanding that any computer equipment that could not be refurbished or re-used for this
program would be returned to Orange County Solid Waste to be responsibly recycled.
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Property to be donated
Computer Type Qty. Avg. Age of Equipment Hard drives erased/wiped
Desktops 404 6 years National Institute of Standards and Technology
800-88 Guidelines 7 pass erasing technology
Laptops 160 6 years National Institute of Standards and Technology
800-88 Guidelines 7 pass erasing technology
It should be noted that providing the County's surplus computers to local nonprofit organizations
has also been previously discussed and pursued. However, agencies have declined interest due
to the age of the computers as well as the cost to purchase operating systems since the County
must remove all software and information for security purposes prior to any disposal action. The
possibility of making surplus computers available to County employees has also been discussed
in the past. The interest among County employees is uncertain, and it has been noted that
conveying/selling the computers to employees requires a prescribed process based on State law.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Donating these computers to Triangle Ecycling will have no financial
impact on the County. As these computers have had 5-7 years of use and have been deemed
unsuitable for repair or further use for their intended purpose, any money recovered by selling
these computers as-is would be offset by the Staff time involved in managing the sale. The
computers hold considerably more value as teaching tools for local students. Computers
repurposed by Triangle Ecycling trainees are given to local charities, sold locally at a discount to
bridge the digital divide, or sold online to support further programming of the nonprofit.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goal is applicable to
this item:
• GOAL: ENSURE ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY
The creation and preservation of infrastructure, policies, programs and funding necessary
for residents to provide shelter, food, clothing and medical care for themselves and their
dependents.
The donation of the County's surplus computers to Triangle Ecycling will help support its computer
reuse and training program aimed at providing valuable hands-on technical training for local high
school students. This training program will help to prepare students for jobs in the traditionally
higher-paid field of information technology, thereby increasing their economic security. These
results translate to positive outcomes related to the above Social Justice Goal.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: The following Orange County Environmental Responsibility Goal
impact is applicable to this item:
• ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND WASTE REDUCTION
Initiate policies and programs that: 1) conserve energy; 2) reduce resource consumption;
3) increase the use of recycled and renewable resources; and 4) minimize waste stream
impacts on the environment.
This donation will continue to divert the County's e-waste from the landfill, while using the labor
of trainees to add sufficient value to the equipment to renew its useful life, delaying the need to
use new natural resources and energy in the creation of new computer equipment. Any computer
equipment that cannot be refurbished or re-used for this program would be returned to Orange
County Solid Waste to be responsibly recycled.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve and authorize the
Chair to sign a resolution declaring items listed above as surplus and authorizing the donation of
those items to Triangle Ecycling.
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RES-2023-081
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
RESOLUTION APPROVING THE DONATION OF SURPLUS, OBSOLETE, OR
UNUSED COUNTY EQUIPMENT TO TRIANGLE ECYCLING PURSUANT TO THE
PROVISIONS OF N.C.G.S. 160A-280
WHEREAS, Orange County owns computers and other electronics, which are unsuitable
for repair or further use for their intended purposes and should be declared surplus or obsolete to
the County's needs; and
WHEREAS, N.C.G.S. 160A-280 allows counties to convey property to nonprofit
organizations that the Board of County Commissioners deems to be surplus, obsolete, or unused;
and
WHEREAS, County staff recommends that the computers and other electronics on the
attached list be declared surplus, obsolete, or unused and donated to Triangle Ecycling, a 5016
nonprofit, to be used for educational purposes; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of N.C.G.S. 160A-280, the Orange County
Board of Commissioners has caused public notice of this proposed Resolution to be posted at
least five days prior to the adoption of this Resolution approving the donation.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Orange County Board of
Commissioners that the computers and other electronics are hereby declared to be surplus or
obsolete based on their unsuitability for repair or further use for their intended purpose; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners
hereby approves the donation pursuant to the provisions of N.C.G.S. 160A-280 by Orange
County to Triangle Ecycling of the above described personal property to be used for educational
purposes.
Adopted this the 12th day of December, 2023.
Jamezetta Bedford, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners