Currently available items

From time to time, Transit makes available certain materials for re-use by the public. After all, if you can re-use a material, that is an even better option than recycling. Some of these materials are offered free of charge via the King County-sponsored Industrial Materials EXchange (IMEX) catalog. Items that have been offered through the IMEX catalog in the past include paint, plywood, scrap wood, bus shelter glass, plastic barrels and benches just to name a few. For a complete list of what is currently available, search for "metrokc.gov" at the Industrial Material EXchange (IMEX) catalog web site [external link]. Be sure to check back often as some of the more interesting items might only be listed for a week or two before finding new homes.

Other materials, usually those of some commercial value, are sold through King County's auction programs. There are two primary auction formats conducted by King County Surplus including a twice-annual car and heavy equipment auction and a monthly spot-bid auction for office equipment. There's also the occasional auction on eBay. Visit the King County auctions web site for a list of available items and auction dates and times.

One other option for obtaining used Transit materials is through a non-profit organization named RE*Source. Thanks to an executive policy signed into effect by Ron Sims in 2004, King County departments have the ability to give materials away to this non-profit company for eventual sale to the public. RE*Source operates two stores under the RE*Store name, one in Ballard and the other in Bellingham.