University of Washington
Ongoing

UW Surplus takes unwanted items from all UW departments and medical facilities. Their objective is to reuse, repurpose, or recycle as many items as possible by reselling them to the general public, to state agencies, to non-profits, and to other UW departments. This system helps divert usable items from the landfill into the hands of someone who will find use for those items.

The items they normally have include: desks, tables, chairs, file cabinets, keyboards, computer mice, file holders, binders, lab glass, office supplies, overhead projectors, slide projectors, LCD projectors, exam tables, microscopes, computers, monitors, laptop bags, and TVs. They also have occasionally sold trucks, boats, airplanes, football shoes, and antique electronics.  Examples of some of the items can be found on the Surplus Store page. New items are added to the store regularly, so their stock keeps changing.

Every Tuesday UW Surplus opens their doors to the public, allowing anyone to come reap the benefits of waste diversion.

Fun Facts: 
Around 50,000 items move through UW Surplus every year
UW Surplus conducts a few live auctions every year, which are available by webcast
Project Contact Name: 
Teresa Seyfried, Program Operations Manager
surplus@uw.edu
Project Categories: