Request for Proposals (RFP) for Master Composter Program and Compost Workshops

The County seeks a vendor to help design the Master Compost Program (Program) and Compost Workshops (Workshops).

The Contractor will update course curricula and support the execution for the Program with input from County staff. The number of hours per class and the weeks per course will be dictated by the curriculum.

T he Program is an approximately 6-8 week class (one 1-3 hour class per week) offered to members of the public, which focuses on topics such as composting, integrated pest management, and other solid waste-related topics. This Program provides a more detailed, in-depth, and hands-on learning experience than a short two-hour workshop. At the end of the Program, participants have enough familiarity with composting that they might teach others about the topic and implement any of the skills successfully in their own lives. In exchange for the free course, the County requires that participants dedicate 20 hours of volunteering in their communities within a year of having taken the course. Therefore, the County will have a sizeable volunteering community. [GT1] [KK2] [KK3] [GT4]

The curricula must be engaging, relevant, and current for community members. The vendor will be expected to incorporate feedback on course curricula on an annual basis and revise the curricula accordingly. In addition, the Contractor will establish metrics for success, strategies for inclusive community outreach, and guidelines for future program administration.

The County of San Mateo places an emphasis on recycling and composting. The County holds about 10 two-hour Workshops a year online and in-person. The primary methods we teach students about include hot pile composting and vermicomposting.

Most of our residents and businesses have yard materials and food scraps collection, but not all. Even those residents who do have collection of these materials have an opportunity to compost at home.

The County is looking for instructors who can teach hot pile and vermicomposting in English, Spanish, and/or Mandarin. Contractors do not need to speak all languages except for English.

Some workshops will be online, and some will be in-person at libraries, community centers, community gardens, and other locations. [KK5]

The Program started in 1998 and has since trained many residents and city staff in the county on the intricacies of composting, the soil food web, and other sustainable gardening topics at no cost. The Program was on hold for several years but the County is looking to restart this again.

The Program was typically composed of 30-35 students from different cities in the county. In exchange for the “free” series of classes, these graduated Master Composters each committed to giving 20 hours of service back to the community by spreading their new knowledge about composting. These hours can be applied by helping at gardens, Fixit Clinics, litter cleanups, etc.

The Program helps to provide education to residents on ways to reduce waste, specifically by composting, but other diversion programs offered to residents are also shared with the classes. Compostable materials (yard materials or plant materials and food scraps) historically have comprised approximately one third of the waste generated and transported to our landfills. For some unincorporated areas, especially along the coast of San Mateo County, this may be the only diversion program available to residents for this type of material.