Pittsburgh donates $92K worth of used computer equipment to Wilkinsburg nonprofit

The city of Pittsburgh donated more than $92,000 worth of computer equipment to a Wilkinsburg nonprofit that will refurbish and reuse them in an effort to bridge the digital divide.

The city this month donated 324 desktop monitors, 74 laptops, 427 monitors, 243 keyboards and 170 mice to Computer Reach, a nonprofit that aims to make technology available to people in need.

Computer Reach refurbishes devices for low-income people and offers digital literacy classes.

The city’s donation comes after the Department of Innovation and Performance has worked for years to find a way to send used technology back into the community, city officials said. It also allows the city to avoid paying an e-waste recycler for disposal.

““This is but one aspect of the city’s commitment to close the digital divide and promote increased digital literacy in Pittsburgh,” said Heidi Norman, the director of the Department of Innovation and Performance.

The city’s partnership with Computer Reach, she said, will allow residents to learn how to use new technology, while helping the environment by putting the equipment back into reuse.

“A reused computer is so much more valuable than one that is just disposed of in a landfill,” said Dave Sevick, executive director of Computer Outreach. “It is … one more opportunity for a person to get connected to the world.”