Reuse of office furniture has a much smaller impact on the environment than manufacturing new furniture. Less energy is required and fewer natural resources are consumed. Organizations are able to reuse office furniture already in circulation, and it is kept from the landfill for another generation.

Remanufactured furniture can help a building achieve its "green" designation. Unlike an original equipment manufacturer, remanufactured furniture does not require independent verification like GreenGuard to qualify its LEED applicability. Reuse of office furniture is an easy, inexpensive way for project teams to earn LEED credits on their way to Green Building certification. Our Vendors remanufacture the highest quality brands, like Steelcase and Herman Miller because they are built for durability and were designed to be reused and reconfigured for years and years. The process of remanufacturing simply gives your design team the flexibility of choosing the configuration and color scheme appropriate for your office setting.

What is LEED?

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their building's performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

Recycling Facts

• "EPA estimates that businesses discard approximately 2.9 million tons of furniture and furnishings in 1995 (Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 1996 Update). Given a 1995 national average tipping fee of about $32 per ton (Solid Waste Digest), the potential avoided disposal costs are upwards of $93 million." - EPA Waste Wi$e Update, pg.6
• Recycled office furniture has a recovery content of about 86%. This includes recycled wood, metal, plastic, fabrics, paint, laminates, and cardboard. (The EPA's recommended content levels for plastic desktop accessories is 25-80% post consumer material, and 30% for paper and paper products.)
• Price: Prices of recycled office furniture typically range from 25% to 75% less than new furniture! The conservation of energy and natural resources result in recycled office furniture that is remanufactured at lower costs than manufacturing new.
• Energy Conservation: Recycling office furniture conserves labor and manufacturing energy. Labor energy is conserved in post-consumer product because the amount of labor required altering an existing product is less than the labor required manufacturing a new product. Manufacturing energy is conserved when metals are kept out of the re-melting process as well as in other manufacturing processes.
• Air Pollution: Recycling reduces the pollution caused by the manufacturing process. Carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrous oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and particulate matter are all reduced by recycling office furniture. By reducing the amounts of these contaminants, global warming, acid rain, photochemical smog, and other forms of air pollution are also reduced.
• Remanufacturing is the ultimate form of recycling. It provides both societal benefits and added value to products. Remanufacturing conserves natural resources, reduces the amount of products filling landfills, and saves manufacturing and labor energy while adding value to the post-consumer product. Remanufactured office furniture is stripped to its bare parts, reassembled, and made to resemble a new product - all at lower costs!