How to dispose of office furniture in an environmentally sound way

GUEST BLOG:  Lyndsey Daykin, Consumer Sales and Marketing Director at Pickfords offers a guide to disposing of old office furniture in line with the latest sustainabilty regulations.

When relocating, whether it due to construction taking place, or simply an office move, many companies do not know how to dispose of, or store office furniture to keep in line with these regulations.

Developments in regulation and legislation have brought environmental practices into sharp focus of recent times.

As the Independent report, a recent survey published in the Enviromental Research Letters journal shows that 97% of scientists agree that climate change is man made. The evidence has never been clearer that we need to do everything we can to be as eco-friendly as possible, and the world’s governments agree, with 195 of them agreeing to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels at the recent Paris Conference, which you can read about in full on the EU’s site.

For business owners, this means that green legislation is likely to trickle down sooner rather than later, with regulations set to become tighter, especially for larger corporations. One way companies can ensure they remain within the bounds of these new laws is by disposing of their old office furniture in as eco-friendly a way as possible. Here’s our guide to clear out your old furniture in an enviromentally sound way.

For small businesses, perhaps the most enviromentally responsible thing you can do with your old office furniture is to donate it or sell it on to someone who has a use for it. If you’re moving out of one office into another, perhaps look to make a deal with the business who is moving in to your current office. This will not only be good for the planet, but will also save you the hassle of arranging the removal of the furniture. It will also have the added bonus of allowing you to make some of your money back from the initial purchase to invest in your new furniture.

If you’re upgrading office furniture and staying in the same office, a great option is to list the old furniture on sites like Gumtree, Craigslist, and Freecycle. It’s also worth putting a listing in a local newspaper and posting on social media to make local business aware that you have furniture for sale. This will be a lot less wasteful than simply taking the unwanted furniture to the tip, and make make you a small amount of your money back as well.