We suggest purchasing furniture for the university from the commercial secondary (used) furniture market whenever possible as a viable option for obtaining items of good quality at a considerably lower cost than new items. Visual inspection is highly recommended prior to purchase. Selecting recycled furniture from commercial dealers that specialize in quality new brands reduces the chances of purchasing less-than-desirable items.

The university has made great efforts to identify government entities and charitable organizations to receive used dormitory furniture. Once approved by the state, furniture can be removed from university buildings by selected organizations. This saves the university the cost of removal and benefits the organization at the same time.

Some of the organizations that benefited from this program:

• Rural Manpower
• Foreign Students Association
• Alston Wilkes Society
• Department of Mental Health
• Prevent Child Abuse of South Carolina

The university currently utilizes the State Term Contracts for office supplies. Their catalog identifies numerous items as having recycled content by use of the recycle ‘loop’ symbol. The copy paper purchased through the state recycled paper contract has a 30 percent recycled content, which meets federal guidelines. 

Consolidated Services stocks only copy paper, tissue and towels that have recycled content.

Total Cases Used on Campus Last Fiscal Year

Consolidated Services collects items for recycling or resale within the guidelines of state law, diverting tons of materials from landfills every year. When items are returned to inventory control, we attempt to reuse them elsewhere on campus.

When no need has been found for the items, they are:

• sold to a recycler.
• sent to State Surplus to be available to the public and other government agencies.
• donated to charitable organizations.
• sent to a landfill (as a last resort).

The Purchasing Department has established a contract for the disposal and recycling of surplus electronic equipment that have been declared as surplus and no longer provides a need for either the university or the state. The university ships this material, at the contractor’s expense, to their facility in Georgia for processing.

The university was one of the first agencies in South Carolina to establish a contract for the disposal of electronic surplus by awarding it to a contractor who would not only pay to remove it but dismantle the equipment to produce ‘raw’ material for re-sell to manufacturers. The state is presently evaluating the establishment of a similar statewide contract for all agencies to utilize.

The contractor specializes in the recycling and reclaiming of electronic components. The surplus electronic items are transferred to their facility for reclaiming. The university is paid a rate of $0.0175/pound for the items. Although the rate appears to be low, it does allow the university to generate revenue and divert much of the waste from landfills. This is just one example of our successful initiatives to seek alternate means of diverting waste from landfills for disposal.