Faculty and staff getting rid of old University equipment have a new option this semester called “technology recycling,” said a Computing Services official.
Technology recycling can be done online through a program called the Technology Recycling Center, Application Consulatant Joel Williams said.
“If a department has equipment that they’re no longer using or it’s being replaced, they can post it to the community, and it may fit a need,” Williams said. “There are still a lot of departments that have instructors without PCs.”
While the focus of the center is computers, it is not restricted to them, Williams said.
The life cycles of other types of equipment, such as printers and projectors, could also be extended, Williams said.
“There is a list that the faculty and staff have access to when deciding what to post,” he said. “It’s fairly flexible.”
The idea for the center was developed by Chuck Wilson, vice provost of Academic Affairs.
Wilson said he came up with the idea after having a discussion with other faculty members on campus, particularly in the College of Arts and Sciences.
“It struck me that it would make a lot of sense if we could get something up where faculty could post equipment and then that equipment could be re-assigned instead of given back to the state,” Wilson said.
In previous years, any piece of old or outdated University equipment was sent directly to a state surplus warehouse if no immediate home could be found, Wilson said.
The program was developed during the summer, and the first announcement was recently put up on the PAWS news page, Williams said.
Once equipment has been posted on the center and a fitting need has been found, LSU Property Management initiates and controls the transfer from one department to another, said Delwin LaCroix, the assistant director of purchasing at Property Management.
Although the recycling program is called a “center,” there is no actual holding area, LaCroix said. The equipment is simply transferred directly to a new location where it can still be put to use, he said.
Williams said the transfer of equipment is not a new development.
“This is just a tool that will facilitate the transfer of equipment,” he said.
While the center has not actually been put to use yet, Williams said there are faculty and staff members already interested in posting some old and outdated equipment on the program.
“Hopefully the word will spread, and people will see there is a potential to use it,” Williams said. “It will stay running as long as it’s being used.”