Surplus property program now open

The university’s surplus property program is open for business. The program allows offices and departments to release university-owned furniture and office accessories that are no longer needed to an on-campus storage facility.

Staff can then shop at the surplus warehouse for “new” furniture and fixtures free of charge. Not only has this saved the university money, but it has kept older furniture out of the landfill.

As of the end of September, 250 units of furniture, weighing in at more than 8.5 tons were diverted from the landfill and adopted for reuse through the surplus property program.

In only the first three months of operation, Surplus Manager, Alan Winkler, said that nearly $100,000 in expenses have been avoided through the program. This number includes only avoided cost of purchasing new furniture. The savings would be even greater after factoring in the avoided cost of hauling the tons of old furniture to the landfill.

If you are interested in shopping the warehouse, contact Winkler at campus phone 4071 or at winkleja@wfu.edu for directions. Shopping hours are from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on Friday mornings. Departments and offices can take any item for free, but there is a $30 delivery charge if delivery service is requested.

Anyone with excess university furniture and office accessories should submit a pick-up request at http://www.wfu.edu/facilities/surplus/. Pick-ups from any university location are complimentary. Furniture should be in good, working condition.

By Caitlin Brooks-Edwards, Wake Forest Fellow