Selling recyclable pallets

The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) issued an Invitation for Bid (IFB) solicitation for selling recyclable pallets from its Recycling Center located at 4418 Broad River Road in Columbia, South Carolina. The procurement seeks a vendor to purchase approximately 13,800 standard-size (48X40) pallets during a 365-day period, with the requirement that pallets be picked up at least once to twice weekly. Vendors must load and remove all pallets from the property at the time of sale, with no staging of trailers or flatbed trucks permitted at the recycling center. The initial contract term runs from November 15, 2023, through November 14, 2024, with potential two optional one-year renewals extending the total contract period to three years. Bidders must submit unit pricing for each pallet and make payment via company checks or money orders at the time of sale, with cash and personal checks explicitly prohibited. The bid opening occurred on November 9, 2023, at 10:00 AM, with an anticipated award date of November 15, 2023. Sealed bids were to be submitted to the SCDC Purchasing Branch, either physically at 4530 Broad River Road or electronically to bidsubmissions@doc.sc.gov, with procurement officer Chad Byrd managing the solicitation.

The solicitation applied South Carolina preferences for resident vendors and end-product preferences for products made or manufactured in South Carolina or the United States. The award was to be made to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, with no specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises mentioned. On November 15, 2023, the contract was awarded to Phillip Biddle from Newberry, South Carolina, at a rate of $1.25 per pallet. The total awarded amount was $17,250.00 for the initial contract year, with potential total contract value of $51,750.00 when including the two optional renewal periods. No incumbent vendors were identified, and no specific infrastructure or technology integration requirements were noted. The procurement was managed by Buyer Chad Byrd and Director of Purchasing Ruthie H. Bishop, CPPB, with the contract designed to provide a straightforward mechanism for the SCDC to sell its recyclable pallets on a regular basis.