NIGP 998: Sale of Surplus and Obsolete Items

NIGP 998 Sale of Surplus and Obsolete Items is a Class code under which state and local governments dispose of excess real property, equipment, and materials—including land parcels, used machinery, recyclable goods, and electronics—through competitive bidding, online auctions, and sealed-offer sales processes. Recent activity across this code reflects a mix of high-value asset dispositions and commodity recycling operations, with issuing bodies ranging from water authorities and transit agencies to county departments, municipalities, and special-purpose districts seeking to reduce inventory carrying costs and generate revenue.

Disposal mechanisms vary widely by asset type and jurisdiction. County boards of commissioners and public works departments regularly post sealed-bid sales of surplus real property (abandoned rights-of-way, unimproved parcels) and equipment (used mowers, vehicles, construction materials), with offers due within 30 to 60 days and awards made to highest responsive bidders meeting minimum prices. Recycling and waste-services procurements dominate the current opportunity mix: Escambia County Department of Waste Services and Ocean County Board of Commissioners have each issued competitive solicitations for vendors to purchase and remove scrap metals, end-of-life electronics, and lead-acid batteries from landfills and processing facilities under multi-year contracts with performance-bond and insurance requirements. The City of Jackson Water Treatment Plant and Pinellas County each conducted simpler surplus-equipment auctions (mowers and miscellaneous surplus) through sealed bids and online auction platforms respectively, with minimal administrative overhead. Geographic activity concentrates in Florida (Escambia, Ocean, Orange, and Pinellas counties; City of Jackson, Michigan; and Monroe County), with secondary activity in Georgia and California. Representative recent opportunities include Escambia County's ITB for recycled-goods purchase from Perdido Landfill, with bids due August 6, 2026; Ocean County's competitive contracting for operation and maintenance of a single-stream recycling facility processing 25 tons per hour, with proposals due October 22, 2026; Columbia County's sealed-offer sale of a 2.77-acre abandoned right-of-way parcel, bids due October 1, 2026; and Pinellas County's RFP for online auction services to manage surplus-equipment disposal, proposals due July 7, 2026. Contract structures typically run three to five years with renewal options and establish revenue-sharing or fixed-fee models; recycling contracts often impose performance standards, liquidated damages, and commodity-market pricing mechanisms tied to material index values or per-ton bases.