What is Resource Recovery?

The Resource Recovery program serves as an important function to help us conserve University resources, support sustainability efforts, and safely dispose of electronics and other items. 

• Check Resource Recovery first if you need office items for your department At no cost to your department, you can often find items such as filing cabinets, chairs, desks and tables, computers, and whiteboards
• Find a new home for the office items you can no longer use Contact Resource Recovery first, and review the University's Resource Recovery program policies for more details
• Properly dispose of broken, outdated, and unusable items We will determine the correct, and lawful way, to dispose of your items

Warehouse Hours*

• Tuesdays 9am - Noon for Approved Non-Profit Organizations
• Wednesdays 8:30 - 9:30am for University Personnel
• Wednesdays 10:00 am – 1:00 pm for the General Public

*changed October 2023

Note: Weekly closures and special dates will be listed on the Recource Recovery homepage. Please visit this page before your next visit.

Coming to the Warehouse

Our warehouse is located at 755 Alexander Road, Door 4 (just south of route 1). If you are interested in items for personal use, you will need to bring a Mastercard or Visa credit card, we do not accept cash. And remember, the items are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

NOTE: if you, or your hired movers, want to deliver items to Resource Recovery yourself, you need to contact us at [email protected] to ensure we have staff at the warehouse to receive them. If we do not have appropriate staff on hand, we may need to turn your truck away.

Viewing & Submitting items online

• View items for purchase on the Resource Recovery Website
• Submit items into Resource Recovery - see Announcement at the top of the page
  • Coordinators login to the Resource Recovery Website (upper right corner)
  • Please email [email protected] or call (609) 258-2347 to find a coordinator for your department (if you are not one).
  • The Resource Recovery Guide outlines our procedures and policies.
    • NOTE: OIT's Computer Asset Recovery service handles laptops, desktops, tablets, displays/monitors, power supplies, keyboards and mice. OIT wipes devices sent to them. Please refer to information on OIT’s asset recovery service and use OIT's request form to schedule pickup.
    • Facilities' Resource Recovery handles IT equipment not mentioned above (external hard drives, hard drives requiring data destruction/crushing, mobile phones, servers, disk arrays, printers and other electronics. Please ensure IT equipment sent to Facilities is wiped before your Resource Recovery pickup.
  • Pre-Move: If your furniture is attached to a wall or has multiple pieces attached to each other, please let us know you will need disassembly help when you submit your item. If our movers arrive and don't know your furniture needs to be disassembled, your move may be delayed. 

NOTE: All money generated from the sale of departmental items by Resource Recovery is returned to the Trustees of Princeton University and not to individual departments.

Announcement for Coordinators: Until you've been trained to use the new Assetworks inventory system you will not be able to enter Resource Recovery items online. If you have items to send to Resource Recovery prior to your training, please email [email protected] with the items you need to be picked up, their location, and a contact person. Thank you for your patience as we complete the transition to our new system.

Contact

Email [email protected] or call (609) 258-2347 with any questions about the University Resource Recovery Program. 

Subscribe to the Resource Recovery sales email to receive emails on special sales and what's happening (please be sure to remove your default signature from the email).

Preparing items for pickup

Preparing items for proper pick-up helps respect our staff and protect University interests and the environment. Your cooperation is very much appreciated. Please note we are unable to return an item once it has been picked up.

• Include item-specific information on your Resource Recovery pick-up work order
  • Include asset tag number (a small barcode sticker with Princeton logo and a number)
  • Include the serial number for any electronic device 
  • Contact Resource Recovery if you need assistance, 609-258-2347
• Empty furniture of ALL items prior to pick-up, especially file cabinets
• Clear all food waste from mini-refrigerators prior to pick up
• Unlock all furniture/file cabinets prior to pick-up and tape keys to the appropriate item 
  • Keys can be obtained from the University lock shop if needed
• List ALL items for pickup on the work order (cabinets, shelves, lamps, couches, desks, cabinets, electronics, etc.)
  • Help us pick up the correct items
    • NOTE: OIT's Computer Asset Recovery service handles laptops, desktops, tablets, displays/monitors, power supplies, keyboards and mice. OIT wipes devices sent to them. Please refer to information on OIT’s asset recovery service and use OIT's request form to schedule pickup.
    • Facilities' Resource Recovery handles IT equipment not mentioned above (external hard drives, hard drives requiring data destruction/crushing, mobile phones, servers, disk arrays, printers and other electronics. Please ensure IT equipment sent to Facilities is wiped before your Resource Recovery pickup.
  • Respect our moving staff's tight schedule
• Label item(s) for pick-up to assure we collect the correct items (a handwritten note taped to item(s) is fine)

Resource Recovery Program Policy: What to do With Unused University Property