According to Steelcase Manufacturing, fully 20% of what goes to the landfill is office building and furnishings waste. The best way to get around this is to buy used office furnishings-see our Used Office Furniture section for good-as-new local options, or check out Furniture Re-Upholstering to learn how to make your existing furniture look and feel brand new all over again!
There is, however, much pressure amoung businesses to continually update equipment and even decor in order to stay current and professional. Fortunately, manufacturers are starting to recognize this trend and use it to their advantage. Steelcase is one of these manufacturers, and they have manufacturing facilities near-by in Markham. They are working towards not only minimizing their own waste, but also towards making products that are fully recyclable in their own right, so when a business needs to update there will be no need for items to go to landfill. Steelcase will simply take them back and make something new with them. Steelcase products are available locally at Brandt's Office Supply-see the "Where to Buy" section below. Not all Steelcase products are created equal, so you can visit their web site, which is listed below, to find out more. You will also find two other furniture manufacturing company out of Markham, called Descor, and out of Toronto, called Nienkamper. Descor has no website, so you would have to call them to find out more, but they do make products that are GreenGuard certified. Nienkamper makes high-end office furniture systems, and have a solid environmental policy and factory.
Also in the "Links" section is the GreenGuard web site. GreenGuard is an independent third-party certifier of various products which looks at the chemical content of materials used, with a view to reducing chemical emissions. They test for indoor air quality, measuring the amount of chemicals that enter the air from the product. Their web site is American, but very informative-a useful tool to help you make environmentally responsible purchasing decisions for the office.
Lots of information on their environmental policies. Impressive specs on their Markham plant-ISO 14001 certified and winner of awards for environmental performance and waste reduction.
TOP
Show on map
Email this page
