| Companies are buying or refurbishing used office | | | | its appearance. Resold and used as is, these pieces |
| furniture or office cubicles mainly for the cost savings. | | | | are referred to as reused office furniture. This type is |
| What they may not be consciously aware of is that | | | | probably the least expensive of the three kinds of |
| they are also helping in the conservation of our | | | | recycled furniture, because the supplier does not need |
| environment. This practice is actually a good example | | | | to do anything to make the items saleable. |
| of the three R's of waste minimization: reduce, reuse | | | | Refurbishing office furniture means adding value by |
| and recycle. | | | | repairing structural damage and making cosmetic |
| Buying or refurbishing used office furniture already | | | | improvements to them before selling. Companies also |
| reduces the overall amount of waste being deposited | | | | have the option of refurbishing their current furniture to |
| in landfills. One study shows that recycling just 40 | | | | make them look brand new, match a certain color |
| workstations is equivalent to diverting one tractor-trailer | | | | scheme or fit a physical space. Some examples are |
| load of furniture from a landfill. Also, it is estimated that | | | | repairing the broken arm of a chair, reupholstering |
| for each pound of natural resources used to improve | | | | panels of office cubicles and adding new laminate |
| or repair old furniture so that it can be reused, five to | | | | surfaces to desks or tables. |
| nine pounds of virgin materials are conserved. | | | | Remanufactured office furniture, like refurbished |
| The truth is, not all of the discarded conference tables, | | | | pieces, has had value added to it before it is sold. |
| chairs, bookshelves, desks, sofas and the like are | | | | Unlike refurbished furniture, however, remanufactured |
| broken or defective. Companies sometimes throw | | | | furniture have been completely disassembled, |
| away furniture simply because they look outdated. It | | | | inspected, cleaned, parts repaired or replaced, |
| could also be that the furniture is slightly worn or no | | | | reassembled and refinished before going back to the |
| longer works with the color scheme of a new office | | | | market. For instance, old office cubicles are dismantled, |
| space. | | | | repainted and new fabric applied to all panels. Original |
| There is a saying that goes, "one man's trash is | | | | laminate is stripped off and new laminate, edge |
| another man's treasure." Recycled office furniture | | | | banding and molding are applied. |
| generally refers to pieces that have been diverted out | | | | The environment and used office furniture users are |
| of the solid waste stream and back into the market | | | | not the only ones who benefit from recycling. Suppliers |
| with or without repairs. Specifically, it can refer to | | | | also save on labor and manufacturing energy. The |
| remanufactured, refurbished or reused office furniture | | | | amount of effort and energy required to alter an |
| and office cubicles. | | | | existing product is 85 percent to 90 percent less than |
| Sometimes, suppliers get items that are still structurally | | | | what is needed to manufacture a new product. |
| sound and do not need any repair or improvement to | | | | |
