The goal of a circular economy is to eliminate waste and continually reuse the resources that an item is crafted from, creating a closed loop system. A circular economy should minimize the use of resources, waste, pollution, and carbon emissions, ultimately operating sustainably. One of the main motivators driving a shift towards circular economies is that our natural resources on earth are swiftly dwindling away. But a circular economy has more benefits than just being more eco-friendly.
In theory, a circular economy drives creativity and innovation since solutions must be found for turning used materials into a new product. This also fosters positive business relationships, since different companies will need to work together to ensure materials are being used.
What’s An Example of A Successful Circular Economy?
Re-Match is a Danish company that creates and recycles artificial turf from soccer pitches. They have a process that breaks down worn out turf and separates the rubber, sand, and plastic fibers. Almost 100% of the components can be reused, or recycled, and they can handle 40,000 tons of worn out synthetic turf every year.
What Are Envirotech’s Circular Economy Benefits?
Envirotech’s remanufacturing program is designed to be as efficient as possible. By remanufacturing outdated or worn office furniture we keep over 1 million pounds of furniture out of landfills annually.
Envirotech’s brokering and liquidation services buys back used furniture from businesses for refurbishment or remanufacturing. More than 1 million pounds of useful furniture is kept out of landfills through this program.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 3 millions tonnes of office furniture end up in landfills every year.
For every 1 pound of material that the refurbishment process uses, brand new production would consume 9 pounds of raw material.
Remanufacturing, refurbishing, and reusing office furniture might be one of the simplest ways to start cutting back the carbon footprint of your organization. The Furniture Industry Research Association estimates that the carbon emissions for creating a single office task chair is 72 kgCO2eq. If that chair is refurbished and its life extended, it reduces the demand for more furniture to be made. If the chair is just tossed in the trash when it gets worn or outdated, whoever is buying a new chair to replace it is responsible for creating 72 kgCO2eq for each one they purchase.
One of the best ways to protect our environment is to start reusing, repairing, and recycling products more often. Office furniture is an easy place to start shifting towards sustainability. If you need new office furniture, Envirotech can set you up with furniture that looks and feels like new. Not only does this help our environment, it also helps your budget.
Refurbished furniture is significantly more affordable than brand new.
Envirotech works with some of the top brands in the industry, so you’re getting top quality for a great deal.
If you need to decommission an office and don’t have a solution to handle the furniture, Envirotech can take on that task for you. We’ll collect all the furniture you need to get rid of, refurbish or remanufacture anything that has life left in it, and responsibly recycle the rest of the materials.
References:
https://stateofgreen.com/en/partners/state-of-green/news/10-examples-of-circular-economy-solutions/