WUSM’s Facilities Custodial Department has demonstrated innovation and thrift when getting rid of old equipment and supplies. Rather than throw it away, they sold it!
The WUSM Facilities Custodial Department has been upgrading and removing old equipment in order to provide custodians with reliable equipment to carry out their daily duties. During this process, WUSM Facilities has been finding new markets for old custodial equipment and supplies by seeking out companies and vendors who can use them.
Once new floor scrubbers, floor buffers, and upright vacuums were purchased to replace older equipment, they invited vendors that recondition and sell used custodial equipment to bid on the old equipment. Items were sold to the highest bidder.
When the Facilities department switched to a new cleaning process, there was another opportunity to recycle items instead of disposing of them. Staff had changed from dust mopping areas to using backpack vacuums with Hepa filters to remove the dust from the buildings completely instead of pushing the dust around and into the air with dust mops. As a result, over 300 dust mops were sold to their laundry vendor.
Changing to a new wet mopping systems with color-coded buckets and mop handles (red) for restrooms and (grey) for common areas provided the opportunity to recycle old mop buckets and handles by selling the items to a custodial supply vendor that sells used equipment.
Additional funds are generated by collecting and recycling scrap metals such as broken racks, damaged file cabinets, or carts.
Sound like something you would like to try? Look for vendors in your area who may be interested in equipment you no longer need. Even if you are unable to sell the equipment, you’ll find that in a lot of cases, you can have the equipment removed at little or no cost to you and be put to good use elsewhere.