1996 Association of Oregon Recyclers
Alice Soderwall Reuse Award

The university's Reusable Office Supply Exchange (ROSE) program is the 1996 winner of the Alice Soderwall Reuse and Waste Prevention Award, presented Sept. 7 to Karyn Kaplan, Campus Recycling, by the Association of Oregon Recyclers. Last year (1995), materials worth about $17,000 were redistributed. Soderwall, late wife of Arnold Soderwall, Biology emeritus, was founder of The Glass Station, a Eugene recycling landmark.

Reusable Office Supply Exchange was opened on Earth Day 1993 in an unused closet area in an academic building of the University of Oregon campus.  R.O.S.E. is a program which encourages University staff, faculty and student groups to donate or retrieve unwanted but still useable office supplies rather than discard or purchase new ones.  Each year all departments at the University receive a pamphlet explaining the program and how it works so that we can steadily increase the amount of people using this resource.  R.O.S.E. receives an incredible variety of office supplies including, but not limited to: spiral notebooks, 3-ring binders, manila folders and envelopes, computer disks and accessories, computer manuals, office organizers, desk lamps, and typewriter supplies (ribbons, erasers, etc...).   Almost entirely self supporting, it requires 5 hours of student labor a week to do maintenance of supplies and calculate the program's savings.  The student employee comes in once per week to place incoming supplies left by other members of the University community on the shelves and reorganize things as necessary, as well as determine the cost savings of the program.

HOW R.O.S.E. OPERATES
R.O.S.E. is a self service operation.  Anyone from a campus department, Graduate Teaching/Research Fellows, Administration, classified/management staff or student funded group can access the room by signing out a key from the English department, located nearby.  This department has been very supportive in taking on the role of key monitoring.  Participants, after accessing R.O.S.E., can either donate materials to the intake area or remove needed supplies.  Supplies taken from the room are written into a log book by whomever removes them.  From this information the program can track the replacement value of items taken from the program.  Also, we can determine who we are/are not reaching through our education about the program.  Through the log the cost benefit is determined by the replacement value according to the Boise Cascade catalog.  Office supplies purchased by the University are required to be purchased on the state contract through Boise Cascade.

In the first year of the program's operation, fiscal year 1993-1994, R.O.S.E. saved the University $13,811.09 in supplies. The overhead cost was $1428, for 5 hours per week of work by a student employee who monitors, maintains the room and performs cost benefit analysis.  This past year, the program's second, saved the University even more, coming up with $16,535.88 in supplies taken.

In addition, extra materials beyond what we can store are donated to other schools.  Some of the materials puzzle the staff in terms of what they are or how they are used.  A recent example involved what appeared to potentially be a stand for a small computer printer; however, when it was taken the log book listed it as a footrest.  Another example entails a box of plastic Y-connectors left in the Program Manager's office.  A quick phone call had them delivered to the Chemical Stores where they saved the University $300. 

SURPLUS FURNITURE
We also have developed a storage area at the University for furniture which has been used and could very well be used again.  furniture in this area goes beyond the normal desk and chair definitions to include, but not limited to: lamps, file cabinets, bulletin boards, couches and lab tables.  We have furnished all three of our offices from this area.  The furniture is free to University offices if it is moved by the department itself; otherwise, there is a small fee to transport the furniture. 

Materials which are on the state inventory are sent to Salem to be auctioned off or given to public schools around the state, such as:  computers, typewriters, etc...  Other materials which we receive in excess of that which could be used at the University are sent to other state programs and schools.

DREAM WORLD
In our efforts to always continue to expand reuse we are developing, slowly due to numerous factors, additional reuse programs for the University community. 

The following list is only a partial one.
- A construction materials exchange for projects at the                 University, presently good wood is stashed for reuse as space allows.
- Collection of reusable items from housing move outs to either re-sell or give back to students at the beginning of the next year.  Actually, this program has taken an initial step; at the end of this last year extra bins were provided along with the recycling ones for usable items that would be used at the University of given to local charity organizations (school/household supplies, stereos, TV's, clothing, stuffed animals and food being the most common items gathered).
- Develop exchange rooms in all campus housing areas and offices.


Reusable Office Supply Exchange  -  The program which leaves everyone smelling like a ROSE.

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