Re-utilization and re-purposing of property is a priority at Stanford.   Items in operable condition that are no longer needed should be made available to all University departments via the Stanford University Reuse Website for potential reutilization (for Stanford business purposes only) and to help minimize unnecessary expenditures. In this way, the University maximizes the benefit of the items and saves costs of unnecessary duplicative purchases.  Items posted and not re-utilized are subsequently declared excess and processed for disposition.  

The Furniture Reutilization Program is an additional resource available to Stanford departments seeking to acquire or dispose of furniture.  Details of this program and how to utilize its benefits are explained in a later section of this chapter.

The Stanford University Reuse Website is Stanford’s on-line mechanism for staff and faculty having a Stanford University Network ID (SUNet ID) to advertise usable items they no longer need and are willing to transfer to another department.  Inter-departmental transfers are either for free or for compensation via a transfer of funds. For a transfer of funds, a journal is created to move the funds.  The accounts used in the transaction must be unrestricted Stanford funds, and the Expenditure type (ET) 58510 should be used for both the debit and the credit lines of the journal.

Departments can also create a wanted posting for items they need.  In addition to capital equipment, individuals may also want to post non-capital items or supplies (e.g.): furniture, toner cartridges, older computer equipment, scientific equipment, etc). Items acquired through the Stanford University Reuse Website can only be used by Stanford departments for use in University business. The website and the items acquired cannot be used for personal purposes.

Stanford’s Furniture Reutilization Program, lead by the Property Management Office (PMO), is a collaborative effort including the Department of Project Management (DPM), Business Affairs and the Office of Sustainability & Energy Management (SEM).  This program provides a resource to departments allowing expedient availability, cost savings and opportunities to acquire or upgrade furniture while reducing needless waste and landfill.  Additional information about the program and how to utilize its benefits follow.

Program Overview

The furniture reutilization program is a means by which departments can obtain furniture at no cost, other than the costs involved in transporting it to the location in need.  Departments or projects with excess furniture are encouraged to make the items available for the program.  The program maintains a warehouse in Menlo Park, where furniture is stored until needed.  Furniture in the program is for Stanford business use only, and may not be relocated to private business or residential locations.

Please note that items located at the on-campus Surplus Sales store are not included in this program – departments are welcome to purchase furniture at the store, if that is more convenient, but the free reutilization furniture is only available at the warehouse.

Obtaining Furniture for your Office

If you are interested in obtaining furniture for your office, contact Jimmy Baca (650) 996-0574, to make an appointment to go to the Menlo Park Warehouse. The warehouse is not a manned facility. Visits are by appointment only, and may require scheduling well in advance.    Once you have selected the furniture, you must make arrangements to have the materials relocated to the campus location – this can be via the Labor Shop or by whatever alternative means can be arranged.  The program does not have a delivery service.  Please try to have the items relocated within two weeks, and be sure to coordinate with Jimmy Baca in making these arrangements, to ensure the scheduling is able to be accommodated.  As noted above, this site is not staffed on a regular basis.

Excess Furniture Collection Process

When your department has furniture that is no longer needed, and you want it removed, please contact your Department Property Administrator (DPA) so they can process a request to have it collected.  The furniture will be picked up and delivered to Surplus Property Sales or to Peninsula Sanitary Service Inc. (PSSI) depending on the condition of the items in question.  The new Stanford Property Administration Resource Center (SPARC) system has an online request form to have the furniture removed to Surplus Sales.  DPAs have access to the system (access is centrally controlled by the Property Management Office).

Large quantities of furniture may require the assistance of the Labor Shop (Event Services), in which case the department removing the furniture will be responsible for the associated costs of moving it to the warehouse.

Furniture in Sellable Condition

For small quantities of small furniture items, Surplus Sales picks up the furniture.  This activity generally takes place on Tuesdays.  They will transport the furniture to Surplus Property Sales, usually at no cost to the department. In these cases, it make take up to 4 weeks to have the items collected, so please plan ahead.

In the event that more immediate removal of furniture is required or if a department has a large quantity to be removed, please contact Jimmy Baca in PMO to make special scheduling arrangements for the removal.  In such cases, the department may need to generate a work request with Event Services to coordinate the collection and delivery to Surplus Property Sales, and will incur the associated costs.  An excess request is still required to be generated in SPARC in order for the labor request to be approved by PMO.  Please try to arrange delivery to take place on Wednesdays, or contact Jimmy Baca in order to arrange for someone to be available to receive the items at the Surplus location. 

Notes

For a No Cost pickup, the DPA should not generate a work order for labor: leave the work order field blank.

Surplus rarely accepts cubicle partitions and modular work surfaces.  Please contact Surplus Sales ahead of time for specific instruction on these items.

Furniture To Be Scrapped

For furniture that should be scrapped (disposed of altogether) the DPA must create a work order for Event Services (ES) to collect it and deliver it to Peninsula Sanitary Service Inc. (PSSI).  The DPA will also need to create a Customer Funded Work Request for PSSI to accept the material.  ES will charge for the labor, and PSSI will charge for the dump fees.  Both the ES work request number and the PSSI number are required in the SPARC excess request.  (Neither ES nor PSSI will act on the request unless it has been submitted to and approved by PMO.)

Examples of Furniture That Should Be Scrapped

File cabinets that are damaged, missing handles, rusted, severely dented, or have inoperable drawers; desks with peeling laminates, inoperable drawers, broken or missing legs; chairs with torn fabric, heavily stained, broken or torn arms, missing wheels; furniture that is structurally compromised (falling apart).   These types of items are not considered to be in sellable condition and should be sent to PSSI for disposal.