University of Alberta
OP-T2-38: Materials Exchange

All items purchased by the University of Alberta are the property of the institution. Departments are required to manage their assets appropriately by ensuring that all goods, once they have completed their useful purposes for the department, are available for use by other departments on campus. Departments are to contact the surplus assets department, obtain a surplus disposal declaration number and submit a completed surplus form. Supply Management Services (SMS) – Surplus Operations picks up all items declared surplus and brings them to the central warehouse. After items are brought to the warehouse, a sort is completed and it is determined if the goods can be reused on-campus or should be disposed of off-campus. Items that still have value on-campus are kept within the warehouse while an appropriate home is found. In most cases, the equipment is transferred at no cost to the other department. Goods that cannot be reused on campus are disposed of in a number of different ways. Goods that have value but are unusable on-campus are offered for sale on different websites and removed from campus by buyers. Electronic waste is taken to a local, provincially-approved recycler for processing. All metal is separated and removed to a metal recycler; batteries, plastics and wood products are removed to recyclers for reuse. Items are also donated to charities, schools and other organizations. Many office supplies are reused on campus including toner cartridges and stationary products. All waste is minimized and very few items are sent to the landfill. SMS hosts a listserve that UAlberta employees can subscribe to. It acts as in internal exchange network for goods between departments. Website: http://www.sms.ualberta.ca/en/DistributionServices/EquipmentServices.aspx