Surplus with a Purpose (SWAP) is a department within Purchasing Services and is located at the Verona Operations facility.
Commonly called “SWAP”, the department is a multi-faceted surplus property disposal operation serving all UW–Madison departments, Universities of Wisconsin campuses, Municipalities, and State of Wisconsin agencies. Over 20 tons of surplus property are received weekly at our Verona Operations facility. Property is then returned to other interested campus departments using the Surplus Exchange, listed and sold through our online auction platforms, or disposed of through appropriate channels.
Mission
SWAP is an environmental steward for the University. It is a multi-faceted surplus property disposal operation that serves all University of Wisconsin-Madison Schools/Colleges/Divisions, other Universities of Wisconsin campuses, and State of Wisconsin agencies in efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of campus activities. This is done by finding new homes for equipment and furniture through redistribution to other departments and sales to the public.
Contact us
Email: swap@bussvc.wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 497-4420
Location and hours
Location
Our facility is located just south of the HWY 18/151 Exit 79 in Verona. There is a large UW Crest on the side of the building, making it easy to find from either Thousand Oaks Trail, or American Way.
Address:
UW Madison Verona Operations MDS/SWAP
1061 Thousand Oaks Trail
Verona, WI 53593
Hours
Please note: Verona Operations closes on State-observed holidays.
Auction payments & merchandise pick-up are available Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Merchandise pick-up is located at the northeast corner of the building. When entering the main parking lot from Thousand Oaks Trail, pick-up is to the left at the bay #2 overhead door. Please ring the doorbell next to the walk-in door for service.
You will have an opportunity to evaluate your purchase at the loading dock. Please inspect your item(s) closely. Refunds will not be permitted once items are removed from University grounds. Please note some categories of items may require verification of citizenship for export control compliance purposes.
SWAP Historical Milestones
1981-1995
UW–Madison’s Surplus Department collected a large variety of unwanted surplus property from campus departments for redistribution at a location on campus. The warehouse was open for public sales on Fridays
1996
Surplus joins forces with a student-run program, initiated in November of 1994 by UW–Madison’s Environmental Management Department, called the Solid Waste Alternatives Project. The Solid Waste Alternatives Project was initiated as an effort to find markets for low-value surplus property. The newly combined operations expanded collection and redistribution efforts on campus. New marketing strategies were developed to market the availability of surplus property, including the use of the newest technology: the Internet!
1997
Due to the success of the collaboration between the Surplus Department and the temporary project, the two initiatives were combined and made permanent, resulting in the newly renamed Solid Waste Alternatives Program (SWAP).
Soon after the rebranding of the program, the name was changed due to a common, and understandable, misunderstanding of what “Solid Waste” the program was handling. To resolve this issue, the program was renamed Surplus With A Purpose.
2005
SWAP begins selling surplus property on a newly developed auction site and named it the SWAP Online Auction, to differentiate only sales from live auction sales. SWAP lists 10-12 items per day on the auction site. In-person sales were conducted on Thursdays (UW departments and non-profit organizations) and Fridays (public).
2020
In March 2020, SWAP closed the doors for all sales, pick-ups, and deliveries in response to COVID-19. When operations resumed in July, restricted access to the building, along with mask mandates and social distancing, forced SWAP to design and implement an online sales strategy that incorporated curbside pick-up. This change to an all-online sales method proved beneficial as SWAP was able to redistribute items more quickly and efficiently. This sales model continues today.