Why a Business Should 'Choose to Reuse'

According to the Better Building Partnership every 1,000 square metres of office refurbishment generates 62 tonnes of surplus strip-out material. With 10% of office stock turning over each year this means approximately 25,000 tonnes of strip-out waste is generated annually, just in Sydney. To put that into perspective the average car weighs 1.5 tonnes, so the extent of this issue becomes quickly apparent. The real problem is that less than 20% of this material is recycled and less than 2% is reused. Everything else heads straight to landfill despite being in good operational order, inherently high in value, and still being a valuable resource. What a waste but what a tremendous opportunity for change.

For small-to-medium sized businesses in particular, there is an opportunity to operate smarter when it comes to managing our office environments. And with a bit creativity the benefits that come with this are endless. Take office furniture as an example. Instead of procuring 100% new furniture for the office environment why not consider sourcing a percentage of reused items or allow staff to make the choice. Even sourcing a boardroom table can generate thousands of dollars in savings. The money could then be directed back to staff in other ways, which are likely to be more appreciated - like increasing the end of year bonus, upgrading the Christmas party, or investing in a charitable program. 

Purchasing furniture that is surplus to another organisation's requirements can also make a strong environmental statement. By choosing to tap into reuse markets you help reduce the demands on energy and resource consumption that go into manufacturing and distributing the new products. According to a UK study, manufacturing the average office task chair causes approximately 70 kilograms in CO2 emissions. Think of the number of new office chairs being purchased every year.

"The money saved could then be redirected back to staff..."

It seems an obvious thing to do but not all businesses are incorporating reuse strategies into their office operations at the moment, or maybe it’s that there has not been an option to operate this way easily.

And this is our focus at GFH Direct - to make it easy for organisations to source quality furniture for reuse at incredible prices.