That’s the argument some Canadian bureaucrats made when deciding that a new office should be outfitted with a new suite of office furniture instead of using existing furniture from the old office. The alleged cost of storing the old office furniture during the renovation and then prepping it for use in the new environment was estimated at about $130 more per workstation than the cost of buying new. This calculation was used as justification for getting rid of the previous workstations (even though they were top of the line models) and buying new ones.

All Is Not as It Seems

However, these numbers aren’t holding up that well under closer scrutiny. It’s possible that much of the costs associated with reusing the older furniture could be eliminated if the agency had a better plan in place for managing the reuse of resources. It’s true that tracking and managing office furniture in a large-scale reuse program is not without administrative costs. But it’s the kind of thing you get better at the more you do it. Over the long term, there’s no doubt that the Canadian government could create a successful program to reuse and recycle its office furniture efficiently. In one way, they are trying to do this already by sending the older furniture to other offices that have an immediate need for the equipment.

What Steps Can You Take To Reduce Reuse Costs?

Are you planning an office move or renovation? Are you concerned that reusing your existing office furniture might cost too much? Here are a few ways you could help minimize expenses:

Hire a professional office furniture company to break down your high quality workstations. This helps you in 3 ways. First, it ensures you have a complete inventory of all the components you have on hand. Second, it ensures that nothing gets broken in the transportation process. Third, it means you can store the office furniture in a much smaller space, limiting storage rental costs.

If your existing office furniture really won’t mesh with your new office space, consider making a deal. You could sell your used office furniture to a refurbishing company (like ours) and buy a different set of workstations that meets your current needs better. Who knows, you might even find a suite of name brand refurbished workstations that are just as good as (if not better than) what you had before – for a fraction of the cost. That way, you are sending your old office furniture to a new home and going greener by reusing someone else’s furniture.