TPG News

Chicago Auctions Scrap Metal for Cash

Old city equipment racks in revenue for the City of Chicago.

What's the city of Chicago to do with unneeded fax machine toners, scrap metal and old vehicle parts? Sell them, of course.

The City's Department of Procurement Services collected $3.6 million in 2011 from the sale of city surplus materials through an online auction system, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Monday.

The auction was close to doubling its 2010 collected amount, and the mayor couldn't be happier

"It is our responsibility to the taxpayers of Chicago to leave no stone unturned or old fax machine unsold when it comes to bringing in new revenue to the City," Emanuel said.

And there's more where that came from.

The Department of Procurement Services believes it will collect $4.6 million in the 2012 auctions. DPS has already generated more than $90,000 in new revenue since Jan 1.

"For each dollar we bring in through our online auction system, it's one less dollar we have to find from someplace else which allows us to preserve critical City services that Chicagoans depend on," Emanuel said