Material/Equipment Donations

Federal agencies have found a number of creative ways to reduce their waste by donating items for which they no longer have a need. Often, non-profit groups, such as local schools or shelters, are restrained financially from purchasing things that they need. With technology's continuous development, products become outdated quickly, and an organization could go through many computers without ever actually wearing out any of them. Donating these extra computers keeps them out of the waste stream and benefits the community. The same can be said of many other items, like the ones donated in the following examples.

The Danville Recycling Team at the Veteran's Affairs Medical Center in Danville, Illinois donates the center's used electronics to nearby schools. They also donate their excess floor wax and furniture polish to a community college, their extra hospital beds to veterans for home use, and their extra medical materials to a local high school. For more information, contact Sharon Williams at (217) 554-5667, Sharon.Williams3@ned.va.gov.

The Alabama District of USPS, Birmingham, Alabama, allows local schools to use surplus electronics. To ensure that the electronics are not disposed of, the Alabama District requires that the schools return the equipment to the USPS when they're done with it. One USPS branch also donated its used office equipment to other USPS branches during remodeling and renovation project. For more information, visit http://www.usps.com/environment/, or contact Edward C. Abrams at (205) 521-0405, eabrams@email.usps.gov.