Why Recycling Might Be the Best Option When Updating Your Old Office Furniture

Office furniture and equipment can get a lot of hard use in a short space of time and as a consequence, many companies look to upgrade their furniture and equipment on a fairly frequent basis.

Rather than simply disposing of unwanted items and furniture, it makes sense to try and get as much of it as possible, for a number of good reasons.

Recycling electrical waste

When it comes to electrical items, there is current legislation and guidance to follow regarding the safe disposable or recycling of any items in this category.

The Environment Agency have a directive called WEEE and is designed to promote the reuse of electronic and electrical equipment through various schemes that will involve either recycling some or all of the components for future use or finding a suitable recipient for any working items that you no longer have any need for.

Why recycling is the often the best option

Any electrical items that are destined for landfill increases the level of risk that could involve toxins seeping into the soil and water table, which presents an environmental hazard to all of us.

Recycling or re-using electrical items are almost universally accepted as being the best ways of disposing of electrical equipment that your business no longer has any use for.

Benefits of recycling furniture

An estimated 500,000 tonnes of office furniture finds its way into landfill every year and when you consider that it takes an estimated 530kgs of extracted material to manufacture the average office desk, you can soon see that it makes sense to be as environmentally aware as possible when it comes to disposing of your old office furniture.

Upgrading your office furniture

It makes sense to try and find good quality office equipment and furniture from suppliers such as Rapid Office Systems, as you will not need to update or change your furniture as frequently, which can only be of benefit to the environment in general.

Donating your old furniture

There are a number of not-for-profit social enterprises around who will be pleased to recycle your old office furniture and re-distribute the items wherever it is appropriate to do so.

The idea behind these social enterprises is that they bridge the gap between businesses and organisations that have some redundant office equipment and furniture to dispose of and find a suitable source for re-using it by supplying charities, community groups or even start-up companies with insufficient financial resources to buy new equipment.

Convenient and environmentally friendly too

If you use a recycling service then you have the benefit of acting in an environmentally responsible way by reducing the amount that is going to landfill, but you also have the added benefit of convenience.

Most of these office equipment recycling services arrange to collect the unwanted items directly from your premises, so you can clear the way for your new furniture without having the hassle of disposing of your old items.

If you are ready to update some of your office furniture or equipment, make sure that you consider the benefits of recycling compared to sending the items for landfill.

Lily Hooper designs office spaces. She frequently blogs about her ideas of making the best of office space and creating a smooth project.