Yes it is, I don't know how it is on your side of the pond. But on this side peoples greed, and entitlement have ruined a good source of low cost stuff. I spent 35 years with the large metro school system. When I started they had a department were any one (general public included) could by the surplus equipment and furniture.
Then a private religious school, got greedy and felt entitled to first choice and got caught removing peoples names off items and placing theirs on them. They were banned from any more sales. They went to court and tried to have the courts force the school board to let them back in and have first choice.
The legal department after looking over the lawsuit decided that it wasn't worth the effort or money generated. If the equipment was at a certain level of newness, useful life left other schools in our system could get it. Luckily I had bought a number of machinery, benches and tables before it ended.
We did bust up and through out a lot of stuff that could be repurposed, and sometimes it almost hurt to do it.
Add to the fact that over here it would cost more to send a truck and crew out to pick up the item and take it back to the warehouse yada,yada. Then it would cost to throw out the item and buy it new for another location.
That's the way it worked. Now at the rate the local governments are going, they will be using slates and chalk pretty soon.
