“Shop” Gets Busy

It’s not quite a Black Friday rush, but the new SWAP “Shop” that opened in the main medical school building at the end of October is having a brisk shopping season.

“We’re very happy with the response so far,” said Suzanne Wood, sustainability and energy manager at UMass Chan. “We have people using the SWAP Shop almost every day.”

SWAP, otherwise known as “Surplus With A Purpose,” began several years ago as an internal website for students, faculty and staff to post surplus office supplies, small furniture or laboratory equipment so others on campus could put the items to good use. The new SWAP Shop is an extension of the concept.

“We’re getting a lot of donations from people in labs and offices, so it’s a good idea to check out the Shop on a regular basis to see what’s come in,” Wood said. “You never know what you’ll find.”

The SWAP Shop is in S2-209, located on the second floor of the main medical school building, near the Sherman Center walkway. Any student, faculty or staff member on campus is encouraged to bring useful items to the SWAP Shop, and take items they can use. Like the SWAP website, the new Shop is only for items used on campus, not personal items brought from home.

“The room operates on the honor system. People can drop off items at their convenience. We just ask people to sign the log book when they take something,” Wood said. “We want to keep track of how much material is swapped through the program.”

The SWAP Shop accepts office and lab equipment and supplies, but no chemicals, biologicals, or isotopes. Any lab equipment must be appropriately decontaminated before being transported and dropped off at the Shop. Large pieces of furniture or major capital items are not included. Those items can still be repurposed, but should be handled through the UMass Chan Purchasing Department’s asset moving policy.