Waste management in 2021 – a recap of our achievements

Waste management and sustainability is a core part of our office relocation and workplace change services.

This goes far beyond simply sending items to be recycled and moving on to the next job. We strive to support our client’s sustainability and CSR goals as much as possible. We do this by diverting as much from landfill through refurbishment, donating equipment to local organisations, or resale.

We have a large network of furniture resale and refurbishment partners which helps our clients not only cut back on waste, but recoup some of the costs of a relocation project.

Charities we work with include Business2Schools, a national organisation that accepts furniture and other office equipment. We also support our clients donate to any local charities that they already have ties with.

Most relocation firms say that landfill is a last resort. We go one step further and consider recycling as the last resort. When we do recycle materials, we work with expert partners that break down every item into individual parts which are then be sent to manufacturing companies for use in new products.

We then provide our clients with a report that details our efforts, from the weight of each recycled material diverted from landfill to the recycling journey of each material. Clients can point to our work to demonstrate how they are cutting carbon emissions and achieving environmental goals.

You can read more about our waste management practices on our website, and carry on reading for a snapshot of our achievements in 2021.

1,251 tonnes of waste managed

We removed waste equipment and material from client sites across the UK. The material breakdown of this waste is as follows:

• Construction and demolition debris – 638 tonnes
• Commercial and industrial waste (including fibre, cardboard, metal, glass and textiles) – 469 tonnes
• Scrap – 79 tonnes
• Wood – 52 tonnes
• Dry mixed recycling – 7 tonnes
• Plastics – 6 tonnes

450 tonnes of furniture recycled

This figure excludes any furniture that was sold or donated.

10,000 items sold

Recycling is the final option we consider and in 2021 we sold about 10,000 pieces of furniture and equipment for our clients. This reduced the cost of a project by around 50 percent on average, and also has a big environmental impact – we were able to deliver many projects carbon neutral.

Thousands of items donated

Donating items is another great way to avoid recycling and also supports local charities. We donated thousands of pieces of furniture to charities like Business2Schools, not to mention an untold amount of stationary.

98.6 percent of remaining items sent for recycling were diverted from landfill

We diverted an average of 98.6 percent of furniture and equipment from landfill over the course of the year. Of course, this means that in many projects we were able to donate 100 percent.

50 percent increase in storage

We’ve seen a 50 percent increase in demand for short term storage while businesses review their estates. Storage is a great option during these uncertain times. Once a business has a workplace strategy in place, its furniture is ready and waiting to be collected and installed.

Furniture relocation

We support many large companies that have multiple offices across the UK. Thanks to our national transportation and storage network, we have been able to help clients move items between offices throughout 2021. In some cases, we have moved furniture from offices to employee homes. This reduces the carbon footprint as the impact of relocating items is much less than buying new.

Looking ahead to 2022

We’re expecting a busy year ahead now that work from home restrictions have been lifted and businesses welcome employees back to the workplace. We’ll be looking for new ways to improve our waste management and seeing if we can tip our landfill diversion average above 99 percent!

We can provide the strategy and delivery for your office relocation needs. Contact us today to discuss how we can support your business.