Sustainable Surplus repurposed over 2700 yards of wall covering to Habitat for Humanity-San Diego.  The covering was part of a recent donation from Jack-in-the-Box. The wall paper was like new, still in its original wrapping.

Habitat will be sending it to their ReStore where it will be shared with their community.  “The pick-up went flawlessly. Thank you so much for getting in contact with us,” said Laura Olsbo of Habitat.

Sustainable Surplus held its first “e-Recycle Day” Saturday, April 28 and it was a huge success.  Over 9 palettes of electronics were collected for recycling.  TVs circa 1980s, old CRT monitors and broken cell phones were the highlights of the day.  A great big “Thank You” to all the volunteers from GE Water Technologies and SSE who helped make the day a success!

ECS refining provided the pick-up and recycling services for the event. Stay tuned for the diversion rates!!

Sustainable Surplus will be a sponsor of the "Get Your Green On" event on April 26, hosted by Green Rope.  The event will exhibit various local environmentally-focused companies that offer green products or services. Proceeds will benefit The Wildlife Company. Please join us and check it out here.  The event is hosted by GreenRope and Landmark Events.

Come Join Us! 
GE Water Technologies will host our first e-Recycle Day on Saturday, April 28, from 10 am to 2 pm.  
Drop off your electronic waste and Fill the Bins, Not the Landfill.
WHERE:  GE parking lot -  760 Shadowridge Drive, Vista.
ITEMS:  computers, monitors, printers, faxes, cell phones/telephones, TVs and small electronics.
Proceeds support the efforts of Sustainable Surplus and to continue the Exchanges of valuable resources to our schools, our community.
 

Unfortunately too commonplace in the bioscience sector, another young company, Traversa Therapeutics, had to close its doors.

But, in light of its recent demise , acting CEO Michael Lack decided to “give back.”  He donated office supplies, furniture and labware to local schools.  A Canon copier was donated to the Gear Up program at Palomar College which prepares students for the college transition.

In addition, Traversa sold assets at a reasonable price to local biotech start-ups.

All told, they helped six organizations and 11 start-ups.  “It was an awesome experience – like Christmas come early,” stated Elena, one of the recipients.

As a result of a huge donation from the now, formerly, Anadys Pharmaceuticals, several teams of people united to make it work.

Anadys donated the equivalent of over $25,000 in commercial-grade and office-use copiers and printers.  The cost to the recipients?  Excursion, sweat, a few trucks and a small handling fee to support the nonprofit efforts of the Exchange.

 “We are so grateful,” commented Connie Cook of the Spiritual Healing Church.  Another recipient from Pacific Ridge School of Carlsbad, added, “This is unbelievable.  Our monthly service fees are more than the cost of buying this printer.”

This Exchange was a true example of one man’s refuse is another’s riches.  After the liquidation of assets from the Roche/Genetec acquisition many assets needed to find a new home or faced (our worst fear) LANDFILL.  

Four organizations were beneficiaries of this donation.

Sustainable Surplus will be participating in the "Business is Green Expo" held by the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, March 21.  The event includes a panel workshop discussion of the Equinox Dashboard report on San Diego's quality of life.  Attendants of the workshop are able to attend the exhibit for free.  
Please join us!  Click here for more information.

What do teachers ask for most often?  Office supplies!  Why?  Because the budget for them is this side of nonexistent.  As a result, most of the supplies come right out of the teachers’ personal pockets. 

“In these tough economic times it’s incredulous that the state expects the teachers to cough up the funds for the items they need to do their job,” says Sue Prelozni, Executive Director of Sustainable Surplus Exchange.  

Three-ring binders, pen, staplers may seem trivial, but these are literally the basics that teachers need.  

Thanks to the recent donation from Anadys Pharmaceuticals, SSE was able to help six schools with these basics.  Additional supplies will be available at the next Exchange.

Thanks to the donation from Anadys Pharmaceuticals, the science departments of several academic institutions 

will have enough labware to last them all semester.  Two Exchanges were held to repurpose the lab and office supplies.  

Some of the recipients:  Carlsbad High School, Hi-Tech Hi, San Diego Unified, Miramar College.  

 “We’re glad to be able to help so many schools and keep these items out of the landfill,” said Peter Slover, Anadys Chief Financial Officer. 

This is just one of the positives from the fallout of the recent Roche purchase of another biotech company. 

Thanks to SynergEyes’ donation of a beautiful conference table and chairs, Sustainable Surplus was able to help a local Church.  

The recipient, Christ United Methodist Church was further helped by people from Crossroads Christian Ministries who offered their time, truck and personnel to pick up the items.  What a fantastic example of how our community can work together!

The items were destined for the landfill.  SynergEyes was happy to have found an alternative.  SynergEyes Director, Ed Peters added, “Thank you (Sustainable Surplus) for finding a home for the table and chairs.” 

Don't forget to sign up for our Sustainability Workshop:  Building a Bridge between Commerce & the Community.
Seating is limited.  This workshop is offered in coordination with the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce - Sustainability Committee.  For more information, contact: Sustainable Surplus Exchange.

Carl’s Jr isn’t just about incredible burgers; it’s about incredible heart.  

Thanks to the donation of tables and chairs, Sustainable Surplus was able to help outfit the lunchroom of the Boys & Girls Club Carlsbad.   “We just want to keep this out of the landfill,” says Linda Juarez, Director of Community Relations for M & N Foods, LLC - Carl's Jr.  “It’s great that we could find them a home.”

Give Something Back Office Supplies is a company with a very intriguing business practice.  It gives about 75% of its net income back to the community of nonprofit organizations.  How incredible is that?

Sustainable Surplus is pleased to welcome this new sponsor to the fold of its sustainable partners.  GSB will be a host of the new workshop campaign, “Building a Bridge Between Business and Education.”  Details of the workshop can be found on the SSE event calendar.

Sustainable Surplus Exchange has successfully completed the CONNECT Springboard program. CONNECT has assisted in the formation and development of more than 3,000 companies in the San Diego region and is widely regarded as one of the world's most successful organizations linking inventors and entrepreneurs with the resources they need for commercialization of innovative products in high tech and life sciences. The program has been modeled in more than 50 regions around the world. Learn more at www.connect.org

The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce has nominated Sustainable Surplus Exchange as "Nonprofit Association of the Year."  for discovering ways to lift our economy.  

"This is truly exciting and was definitely a group effort," says founder Sue Prelozni.  "We have a terrific team of people who have made this a reality."

Some of the Exchange's Accomplishments:
Repurposed 
   ~ $120,000 assets to charitable organizations
   ~ 34 schools, 6 community orgs, 2 religious orgs
Recycled
   ~ 5 tons of heavy metal materials
   ~ 2700 lbs of e-waste
Diverted
   ~ Hundreds of cubicles and office furniture from landfill
   ~ Thousands of 3-ring binders from landfill

Sustainable Surplus is one of seven finalists.  All finalists will be honored at the Chamber's annual Business Awards Banquet, "The Sky Is Limitless," on February 17 at the La Costa Resort.

Once again we are reminded that what may seem like a simple donation, is actually underestimated.  Three-ring binders.  Simple, and yet so many uses.

“Our students use them to organize their portfolios for college prep,” said Theresa Remington of the Palomar College Gear Up program. 

Gear Up is one of five organizations that benefitted from the donation of over 200 binders from Ingenium Group LLC.  At an estimated cost of $5 to $9.95, the contribution saved the schools and the students close to $1000. 

The Exchange took place Wednesday, January 04, at Ingenium’s corporate office in Escondido.  Other participants included:  North Coast Calvary Chapel, the Pioneer School, New Haven Youth & Family Services, and Boys & Girls Club. 

 Thanks to the generous donation of work tables and chairs from Motorola/JLL, Sustainable Surplus was able to help two schools and two 

nonprofit organizations last week.  High Tech High, North County Trade Tech High, New Haven Youth & Family Services and the US Green Building Council  were the beneficiaries of the furniture.   

“I just ‘bought’ 25 chairs for $0 (which is amazing),” commented Tina Chavez of High Tech High. 

The Exchange only charges a handling fee, averaging about $5 per table or chair.  Imagine outfitting your classroom for under $100! 

 Please send us your wish list:  info@sustainablesurplus.org 

November 3, 2011 – San Diego – Genoptix, Motorola and Harbro Construction.  What could these three companies possibly have in common that would inadvertently bring them together?
The Exchange.  Sustainable Surplus Exchange, that is.
These companies are participating in our effort to support sustainability at a very grass roots level.  read more here:
http://app.greenrope.com/users/myteam24325/Media166.doc

Joan Heredia, of Enel Green Power, as the winner of a raffle held by Sustainable Surplus at the recent “Get Your Green On” event.  The Exchange gave away 4 tickets to the San Diego Reparatory Theatre.   “We were very pleased at the number of people who expressed an interest in sustainability and in participating as donors to the Exchange,” said director, Sue Prelozni.  Everyone knew at least one school teacher or community organization that would benefit from items through the Exchange. 

Get Your Green On was hosted by Greenrope.com and LandMark Events.

October 20 - Sustainable Surplus participated in the “Get Your Green On” event sponsored by GreenRope, a leading provider of CRM software, to highlight the efforts of local companies to sustain a green environment.  Over 200 “green-minded” attendees and local companies participated in the event.

Another valuable Exchange for our schools was held last week, thanks to the donations from Isis Pharmaceuticals in Carlsbad.  Isis donated office supplies and materials ranging from paper to desk organizers.
“We are so thankful; all these items are out-of-pocket for us,” noted a teacher from Perkins Elementary.   Thousands of dollars of repurposed supplies made a small, but appreciated dent in the confines of the education budget.

With the much appreciated donation from a local biopharmaceutical company, Sustainable Surplus Exchange re-purposed nine pallets of office supplies and materials to 22 local schools. 

The donor, who prefers to be unnamed, had promotional materials from various marketing campaigns that were headed for the landfill.  Fortunately an employee knew about the Exchange and contacted us before that happened.
“We had representatives from San Diego Unified, Carlsbad Unified, a charter school and a spiritual healing organization.”  The donated items included cases of tablets of paper, pens, paper coffee cups/plates/napkins, post-it notes, ceramic mugs, clipboards and even umbrellas and personal fans.

Sustainable Surplus Exchange is very pleased to announce the addition of David Geigel, PhD, to its Board.  David brings a wealth of experience taking start-up ventures to the next level.  The founder and CSO of Tissue Netix, David is a biological chemist with the entrepreneurial spirit of a CEO.  He is also an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) with the CONNECT Springboard program that mentors business acumen with early stage companies to promote their endeavors successfully in their industry segments.  The Exchange continues to strengthen its corporate focus of giving back and sustainability with the addition of Dr. Giegel.

Good fun, horoscope readings and Exchange factoids were the mélange of a recent wine tasting held at the home of Sustainable Surplus Board Director, Bill Conner.

Guests represented everything from big business to biotech start-ups and philanthropy.  
Wines were presented by "12 Signs Wine" -- a new boutique wine which pairs the elements of a wine with the characteristics of a zodiac wine.

Eve Selis Concert Benefits the Exchange

Eve Selis teams up with the La Jolla Event Center to support Sustainable Surplus Exchange in a concert on Friday, September 2^nd.  Eve Selis is a musician extraordinaire of Americana – from blues to country to vintage rock ‘n’ roll.  The Center has donated 30 FREE Tickets to the Exchange and a portion of the net profits will be donated to the Exchange!

Where:   "The Ocean Venue" at 1020 Prospect, La Jolla

What:      Soft drinks and water served

                No alcohol will be served, but you can BYO wine, beer

Tickets:  $20 - But we have 30 for FREE for our supporters

The IRS has granted the Exchange its tax-exempt status.  Sustainable Surplus Exchange is a 501(c)(3) corporation. We now can absolutely assure our donors that their contributions are tax deductible.  What are you waiting for?  Donate now, support your community, and reduce your carbon footprint!

A recent donation of office supplies from DGP was quickly repurposed to schools in San Diego.  Unfortunately, due to the education budget debacle, teachers are spending hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket to furnish their classrooms with the necessary supplies.  Everything from paper to file folders and staplers are much needed commodities.  DGP stepped up to the plate and provided office supplies, white and magnetic boards and magazine racks. 

Twenty-four Carlsbad area companies attended the premier Sustainable Surplus “Meet and Greet” workshop,to learn about the Exchange.  “This was our first public outreach and we were very pleased with not only the attendance but the quality of engaging questions,” said founder, Sue Prelozni. 

Many industries were represented, from life science to e-waste recycling to banking and green cleaning. Some of the local companies that participated were:  Quintiles, Interfaith Services, Life Technologies, Wells Fargo, Docu-Frog, ServPro, Nex Era Cleaning and Modern Postcard.

Already five companies decided to donate to the Exchange.  Several others expressed an interest in participating as a donor or sponsor.  "Everyone was in sync with the importance of sustainability and supporting our community.”

July 27, 2011 – At their first “Meet and Greet” workshop Sustainable Surplus engaged Carlsbad area companies to learn about the Exchange.  “This was our first public outreach and we were very pleased with not only the attendance but the quality of engagement and questions,” said founder, Sue Prelozni. “Everyone was in sync with the importance of sustainability and supporting our community.” 
Of the 24 company representatives present, five companies decided to donate immediately to the Exchange.  The others, interested in participating,  need to determine at what level.  The reality of surplus assets is not the issue.  The opportunity of how to handle surplus in terms of sustainability is.   At any level, the Exchange is encouraged to have their participation.

On Thursday, July 21, Sustainable Surplus Exchange is hosting its first “Meet & Greet” in Carlsbad.  Come learn how to be Sustainable by donating your idle or surplus assets to the Exchange, and how we repurpose them back into our community.

TIME      8 am – 9 am
WHERE  New Genoptix Building
2105 Rutherford Rd., Carlsbad 92009

For more information and to reserve a seat, please click here

Special Thanks to Genoptix for donating the meeting room space

Food and Beverages sponsored by “The Catering Hippo”

The upcoming Sustainable Surplus Exchange breakfast will be featured as an upcoming Sustainability event on Enviornmental Radio.  Tune into am1170 (KDBQ) on Sunday at 9pm.  You can listen live from KCBQ's website if your radio is broken ;-)  www.EnvironmentalRadio.com.

For event information, please click here. 

San Diego – July 14, 2011 – Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) donated
computers, screens and video components to be repurposed back into our community.  Instead of tossing them into landfill, Director, Scott McWherter, decided to donate them to the Exchange.

With the help of ECS refining, over 2000 pounds of e-waste was recycled.  ECS will refurbish the usable components and a percentage of the sales proceeds will be donated to the Exchange as well.

The Exchange welcomes a new member, Debbie Malek, to the board of directors.  Deb brings a wealth of asset and facility management to the table.

Deb Malek served as the Associate Director of Facilities with Eli Lilly, San Diego for ten years. The Lilly facility is a 124,000’ research and development site with 140 personnel.  She retired last year.  

You can read Deb’s Bio here.

An avid cook and candy maker, Deb heads up The Catering Hippo and also offers high-end cooking essentials through her on-line store “Hippopotamust.”

Prometheus Inc, of San Diego, donated several pieces of lab equipment to Sustainable Surplus Exchange this week.  The intent is for these items to get repurposed into the labs of academia where they can be utilized.  “This presents a great savings to the high school or college,” says Director Sue Prelozni. Lab instruments which may be considered obsolete in an R&D lab are terrific learning tools in schools.