‘Excess Express’ Helps Savannah River Site Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

AIKEN, S.C. – An EM team at Savannah River Site (SRS) has significantly improved the system for picking up, transporting, and processing excess materials and equipment for reuse, reducing the average number of days to complete such tasks from 45 to only a few.

Individual departments or facilities had performed these tasks before the creation of Excess Express Services in 2017. That team, with EM contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), has implemented a cost-effective, efficient process for thousands of employees working in hundreds of buildings across the 310-square-mile site.

Excess Express, which includes subject-matter experts in reusing excess property, has distributed more than $17 million in materials and equipment for reuse to date.

Craig Martin, SRNS manager of property management, excess, and disposition, noted that the team places importance on good stewardship of government assets and the safe disposition of materials and equipment no longer needed. Some items made with metal go to the site's Salvage Excess Yard for recycling, while other items are disposed.

Excess equipment can be reused by SRS, off-site state and federal government agencies, and nearby community organizations, such as the Savannah River Community Reuse Organization (SRCRO). SRCRO’s mission is to create an environment conducive to technology-based startups, business expansion, and new ventures in a five-county region around SRS in South Carolina and Georgia.

“The success of the Excess Express team has been outstanding,” Martin said. “This team has taken on excess related tasks that most employees find difficult and tedious, such as preparing disposition forms and gathering items for placement on pallets. I admire their dedication and excellent work ethic.”

Excess Express Program Lead Marcus Sanders describes it as a “soup-to-nuts,” turnkey operation.

“We do nearly everything for our customers, and it’s been wildly successful,” he said. “At times, we can barely keep up with the demand and often face short deadlines. The items we pick up include just about anything you would normally find at an industrial site and some items that are a bit unusual.”

Martin said the Excess Express team puts materials that may be unwanted by some employees in the hands of those who need it, while helping employees get rid of unneeded materials and equipment so they can use building space more efficiently.

“Better utilization of space within a building and providing unwanted materials to those who need it at SRS or other DOE sites is important in many ways,” Martin said. “Performing the tasks that we do best, through Excess Express Services, permits others to dedicate more time and energy into what they do best.”