Making Your New Office Greener
Companies are buying or refurbishing used office furniture or office cubicles mainly for the cost savings. What they may not be consciously aware of is that they are also helping in the conservation of our environment. This practice is actually a good example of the three R’s of waste minimization: reduce, reuse and recycle.
Forty workstations destined for the landfill can fill up one tractor-trailer. Imagine the amount of waste that can be eliminated if these workstations are recycled. We are not only reducing waste, but conserving natural resources as well. For every pound of natural resources we use to repair or add value to an existing product, we are saving five to nine pounds of virgin material that would have been used to create a new piece.
Recycling or reusing furniture is practical, given that many office tables, chairs, sofas, bookshelves and desks taken to landfills are still structurally sound. They are not really damaged or broken, just outdated or slightly worn perhaps. A common reason why companies discard these pieces is that they no longer fit the color scheme or layout of a new or renovated office space.There is a saying that goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Recycled office furniture generally refers to pieces that have been diverted out of the solid waste stream and back into the market with or without repairs. Specifically, it can refer to remanufactured, refurbished or reused office furniture and office cubicles.
Sometimes, suppliers get items that are still structurally sound and do not need any repair or improvement to its appearance. Resold and used as is, these pieces are referred to as reused office furniture. This type is probably the least expensive of the three kinds of recycled furniture, because the supplier does not need to do anything to make the items saleable.
Refurbished office furniture refers to pieces that have value added to them through surface changes and repairs. This includes repairing the broken arm of a chair, reupholstering panels of office cubicles or adding new laminate surfaces for tables or desks. Companies have another option-they can have their existing furniture refurbished instead of making new purchases.
Remanufacturing involves structural changes, on top of cosmetic or surface changes. Furniture is disassembled completely, so that each part can be inspected, cleaned then repaired or replaced. They are then reassembled and refinished. In the case of old office cubicles, these are repainted, given new fabric for the panels and provided with new laminate, molding and edge banding.The environment and used office furniture users are not the only ones who benefit from recycling. Suppliers also save on labor and manufacturing energy. The amount of effort and energy required to alter an existing product is 85 percent to 90 percent less than what is needed to manufacture a new product.
