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If you have piles of old office furniture in need of a new home, consider using a junk hauler to save yourself some logistical headaches.
Want to know what will bring you down from the high of your gleaming new office furniture being delivered? The depressing pile of the rejected furniture waiting for its fate to be decided.
There are plenty of options for disposing of your unwanted office equipment, some of which (donating it or selling it to an office liquidator) are a little more environmentally friendly than others (like dumping it at the nearest landfill).
Of course, after you decide where it’s going to go, you have to figure out how it’s going to get there. Before you call every pickup truck owner you know and enlist the brawniest folks of the office to spend the day cleaning house, consider an alternative: Hiring someone to get rid of it for you.
This way, you can enjoy lounging in your stylish, ergonomically correct task chair while it still has that new task chair smell without having to break a sweat (or a nail).
For advice on disposing of old office furniture, we checked in with Mike Thorne. He’s the founder and CEO of Just Junk, a professional junk removal service.
What options do business owners have for getting rid of old office furniture?
Generally, because of time constraints, businesses and business owners often aren’t able to remove junk on their own. Often, city services won’t take office furniture and electronic equipment, and if the city is able to take them, it’s usually not without complications. Donation is often ideal, but finding the people to lift, load and haul away furniture for donations can be just as difficult.
What seems to be the most common method you’ve come across?
Once office furniture is outdated or has been replaced, our services are called. With junk removal and office cleanout services, we’re able to recycle and donate. Given the vast amount of recyclable materials that are used in older office chairs, tables and electronics (from computers, monitors, servers etc.) and other e-waste, so much of it can be recycled if not donated.
What do you think is the best thing a business can do with old furniture (Throw it out? Donate it? Hold a yard sale?)
Finding a way to reuse or recycle furniture is ideal, but it’s easier to sell older furniture to those looking for it at low costs in online classifieds. To ensure you’re maintaining a low carbon footprint, maintaining the use of furniture is always the best thing that you can do.
What are the biggest hassles/challenges associated with getting rid of old furniture?
We’ve found that the donation of furniture becomes complicated with over-saturation. With so many businesses and residences updating furniture, donation centers are being approached with more furniture than they can handle. Finding donation centers is often the most difficult, but once that site is found, only a fraction of them will offer to pick up the furniture. Businesses often don’t have the resources to transfer old furniture themselves to these locations.
What are the advantages of using a junk removal service like yours?
We do it all! We work with local donation centers to ensure that we can donate those couches and dining sets for you. We have the team and the resources for anything from smaller removals of a few office chairs to an entire office cleanout. Our trucks hold 15 cubic yards and can be loaded easily by our team of removal service professionals. Once you show us what you need to remove, we can begin the loading so you can get back to work.
What does your service do with the furniture after you haul it?
We travel to various donation centers and recycling locations in order to dispose of the items. Local spots like these benefit from these items and the resources they provide, as opposed to a local dump. It’s these connections we have that allow us to find the best place to reuse and recycle these items.
What are the costs associated with using a junk removal service?
Our rates are simply based on the volume of the load size. We provide all-inclusive rates, so all labor and disposal fees are covered in our removal rates. Upon arrival, our team provides every customer with a free, no-obligation estimate to confirm the rate. Some removal companies charge the dump fees back after the removal, but we aim to make removal easy. We come in, give the quote and remove without the headache of waiting for another bill in the mail.
When would it make sense for a small business to just handle the junk removal themselves? What are the disadvantages of that?
Single items or items of extremely high value for resale are often more advantageous for small businesses to remove or dispose of themselves. Still, in many cases, high-value items are often complicated in some ways: tax receipts for donations or high-value items may be very large to move and may require the time and resources of your employees, which may affect your day-to-day in unforeseen ways.
What are some things business owners often overlook when it comes to disposing of old furniture and office equipment?
It’s important to dispose of electronics properly. Many electronics (processors, circuit boards) contain precious metals and can be disposed of separately to greater effect than together, and often to greater value over time. It’s important to do your research around your locality. Each city and region has different laws about disposal and recycling. Your local junk removal company is aware of many of these laws, but some small independent removal services may not be. It’s important to know who you’re dealing with if you’re a business conscious of the environment.
How do junk removal services work? How far ahead do you need to call for services? Is there a limit to how much you can haul?
JUST JUNK services are easy. Call or book your removal online and save on your removal. Our Sales Associates can answer any questions you may have and book you for a free estimate as soon as that day! With our same- and next-day service, that pile of junk for removal can be gone tomorrow. The truck, as mentioned earlier, is 15 cubic yards, but we’re always available for multiple loads.
Each type of office furniture is different, which means they also have their own disposal methods. If you’re looking to get rid of a specific kind of office furniture, consider the following processes.
If you have unwanted desks at your office, you can get rid of them in various ways. If your desks are still functional, you may be able to sell them, even if they aren’t in pristine condition. As long as they still have some life left in them, you can likely list them on resale websites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace. If you have multiple desks to sell, consider listing them as a set.
You can also try donating your old desks to thrift stores or charities, so long as they’re currently accepting office desks. If not, you may be able to recycle them. However, desks tend to be more challenging to recycle than other types of office furniture due to their weight and material composition, as different mediums like wood, plastic, metal and glass must be recycled separately.
Though it’s easy to throw away old chairs, recycling is the better option. Because office chairs typically comprise metal, recycling facilities can melt them down easily. However, other chair components like wood, fabric, plastic and leather will likely go to a landfill.
You can also try to donate your office chairs at a secondhand store, but many of these facilities will not accept chairs that are broken, stained, worn or generally in poor condition. If the chairs are in passable condition, you may have better luck selling them.
If you’re unsure how to get rid of old cubicles, you can pursue various methods. Like other office furniture, you can try selling your cubicles. If your company is relocating, you may be able to leave the cubicles where they are for the next tenants to purchase and use. Despite their large size, you can also recycle your old office cubicles at a recycling center to eliminate textile waste. Furniture donation is another sustainable option.
No matter how you choose to dispose of your old cubicles, you’ll have to disassemble them first. Begin by unscrewing the outer panels and working toward the middle while a second person supports the walls to prevent them from falling. Then, you can use a flathead screwdriver to pry the walls down. If your cubicles are connected to a floor rail, use pliers or a wrench to detach them.
If you’re considering getting rid of old office furniture and searching for an upgrade, Arnold’s Office Furniture can help. We’ve spent over 90 years delivering and installing high-quality office solutions nationwide, including state-of-the-art Sunline cubicles.
Request a quote for our products today!
