On April 30, Next Step Recycling and the University of Oregon Office of Sustainability held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Surplus Store. Located in Eugene’s neighboring city, Springfield, the retail store is stocked with low-cost furniture, electronics and household items.

The store’s launch follows the closure of the Romania Warehouse, the previous home of UO’s surplus inventory, which was managed by the UO Office of Sustainability.

In preparation for the relocation of surplus items, Steve Mital, director of the Office of Sustainability, expressed interest in a partnership with the Eugene-based non-profit, NextStep Recycling. 

“We’ve known about (NextStep), worked with them and admired them for a long time,” Mital said. “We were looking for a partner. So I knocked on their door and said, ‘Hey, what do you think about this?’”

Jessica Ahrenholtz, executive director of NextStep Recycling, spoke about the collaboration.

“I just think it’s an amazing partnership,” Ahrenholtz said. “The biggest goal that we’ve had in our meetings is (offering) things that can be useful and affordable.”

The store’s layout has two sections that are stocked by UO Sustainability and Next Step Recycling, respectively. 

Ahrenholtz explained that Next Step “survives solely on donations of electronics.” Their inventory includes used items ranging from kitchen supplies to computers. 

“We sell Apple products where we do a 90-day warranty,” Ahrenholtz said. “We’re registered refurbishers, so we don’t put things in the computer or in the store that’s not supported.”

According to Ahrenholtz, the focus on refurbished devices is a part of Next Step’s broader purpose.

“Our mission is…providing the technology and training to children and adults with barriers to education and employment,” Ahrenholtz said. “When you give a computer to someone, you realize that you’ve just opened up a whole new world of possibilities.”  

Mital spoke about the UO Office of Sustainability’s desire to prioritize serving the campus community.

“Faculty and staff have exclusive access to everything that comes through the store for the first two weeks. But after two weeks, it’s opened up to everybody and anybody,” Mital said. 

According to Mital, affordability is central to the store’s approach.

“We purposely priced things, especially initially, way down,” Mital said. “You can find some incredible deals.”

Ahrenholtz said additional discounts are offered to ensure greater accessibility.

​​”(NextStep) always give discounts to students and veterans and seniors,” Ahrenholtzsaid “We also include teachers in the student discount, because we feel that there’s a lot of teachers, and especially in the high schools, that are having to pay for a lot of their own things that they need for their classrooms.”

According to Ahrenholtz, the “round-down” approach to pricing items has drawn a large customer base.

“The challenge for me is, and it’s a good challenge, is keeping the shelves full. Things have been selling pretty quick,” Ahrenholtz said.

The inventory is listed on the surplus website, which includes features that allow customers to reserve items ahead of time for in-store pickup. 

With the store in full operation, Ahrenholtz reflected positively on NextStep’s previous accomplishments.

“We’ve kept over 30 million pounds of electronics out of the landfill… To me, that’s pretty amazing,” Ahrenholtz said.

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