ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Doing their part to reduce waste, the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center is leading an aggressive furniture recycle/re-purpose program.

Personnel from ECBC's Engineering Directorate have moved and stored nearly 100 cubicles used by the U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR's) advance teams at the former Eagle Point Office complex.

The old furniture -- mainly work stations - will be put to good use when the ECBC Advanced, Design and Manufacture (ADM) Division moves into Downer Hall, the sprawling complex that belonged to the Ordnance Mechanical Maintenance School's wheel, track and automotive training division before it was relocated to Fort Lee, Va. under Base Realignment and Closure.

Another BRAC-inspired re-purposing occurred when the ECBC employees at the Program Manager for NBC-CA (Nuclear, Chemical, Biological -- Contamination Avoidance) moved from the 4400 block to the newly constructed and furnished Bldg. E2800.

Douglas Celmer, a facilities engineer with the ECBC Engineering Directorate, said ECBC utilized an existing facilities and logistics support contract to move work stations, file cabinets, book shelves and other furniture to employees at other ECBC buildings to avoid purchasing new furniture, to add a needed storage or work capacity to existing office sets, and to upgrade dated sets.

"We knew we were getting Downer Hall so we took 90 work stations and furniture for four offices," Celmer said, adding that the items will have to be cleaned and reassembled and that some stations have already been recreated into unusual three-person, V-shaped arrangements.

"It's less traditional and more creative for their use," he said.

The re-purposing of the furniture from the 1500-square foot office complex has saved ECBC money, improved work spaces, and eliminated the potential disposal of the furniture, Celmer said.

"Workstations cost from $5,000 to $6,000 apiece and we got 90 of them," he said.

About 100 personnel from the ECBC ADM Engineering Directorate are set to relocate into the new office space in Downer Hall.