Repurposed office furniture can receive LEED points towards certification in the areas of waste management (diverted from landfills), materials and resource reuse, and recycled content. Credit can also be earned through improved environmental quality resulting from the use of low-emitting materials.
The EPA has estimated that approximately 3 million tons of office furniture is discarded each and every year, resulting in enormous amounts of wasted resources. In addition, it is estimated that somewhere between $93 and $100 million in disposal costs per year is being incurred by companies as they try to shed these valuable assets.
Most office furniture is built to have a long lifespan, 20-30 years on average. Just because companies decide to make changes in a year or two does not mean office furniture is needlessly predestined to being discarded at the dump.
Repurposing diverts office furniture from the solid waste stream and back into the marketplace. Repurposed office furniture is good for your bottom line and benefits the environment as well. It makes good business sense while also supporting the sustainability of our planet.
For every pound of natural resources expended in repurposing furniture, it’s estimated between 5 to 9 pounds of original materials used in the manufacture of new product is conserved. In addition, all the labor and energy needed to produce new product is conserved.