6 USPS Supplying Practices Process Step 6: End of Life

6-1 Dispose

The Postal Service recognizes that assets will eventually no longer bring value to the business and will need to be disposed of. Disposal addresses the methods that will be used to get rid of Postal Service assets, either internally or externally through redistribution or placement.

Disposal is critical to USPS Supplying Practices Process Step 6: End of Life, because it can pose significant economic and social risks to the Postal Service. These risks arise from several sources, among which are:

Many assets contain materials that are considered hazardous and require special steps for approved disposal; as the original asset owner, improper disposal of these assets can result in a suit against the Postal Service. Material safety data sheets (MSDSs) describe how to properly dispose of items containing hazardous materials. They can be found at http://hazard.com/msds/index.php.
Computer-based assets can contain either information of proprietary value to the Postal Service or private information about Postal Service employees, clients, and customers. These assets require special processing to preclude incidental release of this information and avoid lawsuits.
Assets visible to the public that are branded must be handled carefully to prevent misuse or misrepresentation or the apparent use of these assets for criminal purposes.
A number of assets now contain devices designed to provide integrity or security of the mail, Postal Service employees, and customers of the Postal Service; these devices must be removed prior to disposal.
Mail processing and other equipment have licensed software systems that must be removed at the time of disposal.

In spite of these risks, assets (especially physical assets) can still offer value from trade-in, resale, donation, or relocation of the asset within the Postal Service to where it will provide the most benefit for service use. The Postal Service environmental policy, as stated in the applicable AS series Handbooks, must be incorporated into procedures governing material redistribution, recycling, and disposal.