A Lesson in Sustainability
A California school district had major bond construction projects in 2020 and 2021. Part of their facilities modernization plan included a new standard of furnishings, which resulted in thousands of decommissioned furniture items.
The district no longer needed the surplus furniture and sought a sustainable means of disposition. Working with a moving company partner, Furniture Reuse Solutions offered services for redeploying the surplus through charitable donation. This solution enabled the district to uphold their sustainability goals with a program that provides benefits to the environment and community.
Project Description
Between Q4 2020 and Q3 2021, furniture was decommissioned from 14 of the district’s 16 schools. The majority of the inventory consisted of classroom furniture. The inventory also included items such as auditorium seating, kitchen equipment, and office furniture.
Each project commenced with a photographic inventory of surplus
furnishings. FRS offered these inventories to charities and nonprofits in their network. The mover provided loading services and FRS scheduled transportation and provided on-site project management.
A total of 25 shipments, including 21 40’ ocean containers, one 53’ tractor trailer, and three straight trucks, were delivered to domestic and international nonprofit organizations. The trucks were loaded either directly from the school site or from consolidated inventories at the mover’s warehouse.
Results
7,458 Items Repurposed
The district generated 7,458 furniture items for reuse. These items filled 21 40’ ocean containers, one tractor trailer, and three 24’ straight trucks.
107 Tons Diverted from Landfill
By diverting from the landfill, the district realized a greenhouse gas offset equivalent to conserving 30,224 gallons of gasoline (268MTCO2E).
Cost Savings
Reuse is less expensive than disposal and recycling. This inventory would have required a minimum of 68 30-yard roll-off waste containers.
Social Responsibility
Two international charities sponsored 21 shipments to the Caribbean, Central America, and Africa. The furniture will be used in their relief and development efforts. Three shipments went to a California school district. Another went to a domestic charity.
Inventory
| Item | Pieces | Weight (lbs) |
|---|---|---|
| Desk | 2,923 | 108,907 |
| Chair, Stool | 560 | 33,335 |
| Auditorium Seating | 560 | 22,400 |
| Table | 426 | 25,841 |
| Bookcase | 173 | 10,275 |
| Storage Cabinet | 68 | 4,990 |
| File Cabinet | 36 | 2,440 |
| Kitchen Equipment | 4 | 525 |
| Beds | 59 | 472 |
| Miscellaneous | 40 | 2,287 |
| Totals: | 7,458 | 213,472 |
Destinations
The 25 shipments went to two domestic and seven international destinations. FRS worked with a domestic charity that operates restores to raise funds for affordable housing in their communities. The other domestic nonprofit recipient was a school district.
FRS placed furnishings with two large international charities. One provides food, medicine, and shelter, among other services, to the poor in Latin America and the Caribbean. The other charity is a humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization that is active in more than 90 countries and has a large presence in Africa.
