The Process Behind Office Furniture Recycling: A Removal Company's Complete Guide

Ida Gorecka • March 6, 2025

With global waste projected to soar by 70%  by 2050, how you handle office furniture disposal matters more than ever. Each year, millions of perfectly good desks, chairs, and storage units end up in UK landfills unnecessarily, 200 million tonnes of waste generated annually in the UK. But you can offer a better solution.


As a removal specialist, you can save valuable resources and support the economy while adding value for your clients. Think about the furniture you removed last week. What if those items generated profit instead of being thrown away? At Coggin SOS, our zero-landfill office furniture recycling system turns “waste” into resources. Your clients gain impressive ESG metrics, and you boost your profits and strengthen your relationships.



Learn more about how sustainability in office removals meets your clients’ expectations here. 


In this guide, you'll learn exactly how our furniture recycling process works, what materials we handle, the recovery options available, and most importantly, how partnering with a zero-waste recycling partner can boost your profits while helping you win more environmentally-conscious clients.

From Assessment to Processing: Every Type of Office Furniture We'll Handle for Your Clients

Before we move a single chair, we visit the site and create a detailed inventory. This approach helps us:


  • Spot valuable items that could be resold for profit
  • Sort furniture by what it's made of
  • Identify pieces worth refurbishing
  • Create an efficient collection and processing plan


Categories of Furniture We Can Process:


  • Desks and workstations
  • Task chairs and soft seating
  • Meeting room furniture
  • Storage solutions (filing cabinets, pedestals, lockers)
  • Reception area furniture
  • Cafeteria and breakout space items
  • Partition systems and screens
  • Specialty items like acoustic booths and pods


Types of Materials We Handle:



  • Metal (steel, aluminum, chrome)
  • Wood (solid, veneered, laminated)
  • Plastics (various polymers)
  • Fabrics and upholstery
  • Composites and mixed materials
  • Foam cushioning
  • Electronic components (from powered desks, etc.)

Old Office Furniture Recovery Options: Turning Your Clients’ "Waste" into Worth

Resale and Refurbishment


Premium office furniture from brands like Herman Miller, Steelcase, and Orangebox often retains value and contains components that are easy to replace. Our refurbishment process:


  • Restores office furniture to original manufacturing standards
  • Updates fabrics and finishes to meet client demands
  • Provides a 12-month guarantee on refurbished items
  • Delivers like-new quality for less than buying new


Material Recycling Streams


When your clients’ old office furniture cannot be reused or refurbished, we break it down into its component materials:


  • Metal - Separated by type and recycled into new manufacturing inputs
  • Wood - Processed into chipboard or biomass fuel
  • Plastics - Categorized by polymer type and reprocessed
  • Textiles - Repurposed or recycled into insulation materials
  • Foam - Converted into carpet underlay or insulation products


Charitable Donation Pathways


Some second-hand office furniture finds new life through our network of charitable partners, supporting:


  • Community organisations
  • Educational institutions

How You Can Save on Office Furniture Clearances by Partnering with a Recycling Facility

Partnering with a recycling service provider like Coggin SOS, delivers measurable cost benefits:


  • Reduced Skip Hire - Cut waste disposal costs
  • Lower Landfill Charges - Avoid escalating landfill tax
  • Revenue Sharing - Potential income from high-value furniture resale
  • Competitive Edge - Differentiate your services with sustainability credentials


Our partners typically save clients thousands of pounds on each clearance project while creating new revenue opportunities.


Reach out now to see how our team can help you cut costs and create new revenue streams through effective office furniture clearances.

Our Process Integration: Hassle-Free Collaboration with Your Existing Team

Working with our team at Coggin SOS is straightforward and efficient. We integrate seamlessly with your existing removal operations:


  1. Coordination - We work alongside your teams, enhancing rather than disrupting your workflow
  2. Collection - Our vehicles complement your fleet when needed
  3. Timing - We adapt to your project schedules, ensuring no delays
  4. Logistics - Full transportation support for furniture being refurbished or recycled



This collaborative approach means you maintain full control of client relationships while delivering enhanced environmental value.


Find out more about maintaining client relationships and meeting client expectations in this article.

Our Savings Certificates and Reports: Proof Your Clients Can Use

After every project, we provide detailed documentation that proves the environmental impact of your furniture recycling efforts. 

What Our Savings Certificates Include:


  • Furniture Count - Exact number of items diverted from landfill
  • Weight Saved - Total kilograms kept out of waste streams
  • Carbon Reduction - COâ‚‚ savings calculated in real-world equivalents (like "equal to X car journeys")
  • Cost Savings - Financial benefits compared to traditional disposal methods
  • Material Breakdown - Percentages of materials recycled, refurbished, and reused


For your clients who need to meet ESG targets, these certificates provide the verifiable proof they need. It turns an ordinary office clearance into a measurable sustainability initiative that helps them show their environmental commitment.

Partnering with an Office Furniture Recycling Service Provider: What's In It for You

In 2025, offering basic office furniture removal services isn't enough anymore. Your clients are looking for more, and so are their stakeholders. Partnering with Coggin SOS gives you a strong edge and opens new doors.


What You Get As Our Partner:


  • Competitive Advantage - Stand out as the removal company that offers sustainable solutions
  • Zero-Landfill Guarantee - Give your clients an environmental commitment they can promote
  • Quality Refurbished Options - Offer premium furniture solutions that cost up to 80% less than new
  • Documentation That Impresses - Provide clients with comprehensive environmental certificates and reports
  • Cost Savings - Reduce skip hire and landfill charges while creating value from "waste"
  • ESG Credibility - Help your clients meet their sustainability targets with concrete, measurable results
  • Marketing Support - Get materials that showcase your green credentials to potential clients

Win More Clients: Start Offering Office Furniture Recycling Today

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important and partnering with Coggin SOS is your chance to stay ahead of the curve. Imagine delivering greater value, attracting clients who genuinely care about their environmental impact, and building a reputation as a forward-thinking service provider.


We make the partnership process simple:


  1. Contact our team for an initial consultation
  2. We'll customise a partnership approach for your business
  3. Start offering enhanced services to your clients
  4. Watch your business grow as you deliver more value


Your clients need sustainable disposal options, and we have the recycling infrastructure you might not.


By integrating our furniture recycling service with your removals, you'll add a valuable offering that meets corporate ESG requirements while creating a new revenue stream for your business.


We've helped removal companies increase client retention by providing documented sustainability metrics that their customers actually value.


Let's discuss how to make this work for your specific client base. Get in touch with us today and tell us more about your next project!

One Size Doesn't Fit All: The Benefits of Resizing and Repurposing Office Desks

By Ida Gorecka • September 8, 2025
Your office transformation is approved. Budget's signed off. New layout's finalised. There's just one problem: those 1600mm executive desks that worked perfectly in the old corner offices are now 400mm too wide for your new collaborative pods. The reception desk you spent £3,000 on last year? It's the wrong height entirely for your rebrand. Most facilities managers would see this as a disposal problem. Skip hire , landfill tax , 12-week lead times for replacements. But what if that's completely backwards? What if the furniture that doesn't fit isn't a problem to solve, but an asset to unlock? Every year in the UK, around 1.2 million desks and 1.8 million office chairs are sent to landfill and only 14 % of them are being reused (Source: WRAP , Lancashire Business View ). Those old, "wrong-sized" desks you're planning to skip? They can be professionally refurbished and resized to your exact specifications in 7-10 days , at 40-70% less than new , with zero waste and a 12-month warranty . This article is for facilities managers, procurement leads, and fit-out teams who want practical, product-focused solutions. You’ll see when resizing and repurposing makes sense, the savings it delivers, the compliance boxes it ticks, and how to roll it out step by step. Curious what your current desks could deliver if resized or refurbished? Book a free assessment - we’ll map options, costs, and timelines for you.

Why Paying More Isn't Always Better: The Smart Choice of Refurbished Ergonomic Chairs

By Ida Gorecka • August 19, 2025
Refitting an office today means juggling a lot: tighter budgets, faster timelines, and pressure to deliver on ESG goals. And when it comes to ergonomic chairs, the one piece of furniture an office team relies on every day, many assume paying more for “new” automatically means better. But that’s no longer true. Refurbished ergonomic chairs offer the same comfort , durability , and support as new, backed by warranties , come with less cost and with far shorter lead times . For facilities and procurement teams, that means more budget freed up for other priorities, and fewer delays holding back your project. At Coggin SOS, we work with organisations that once assumed refurbished meant second-best. Until they saw the results. High-performance, fully warranted ergonomic chairs. Fast delivery. Circular outcomes they could actually report on. And savings of up to 80% compared to new (check out our case studies here ). In this article, you’ll learn what refurbished office chairs really offer in practice, why they’re becoming a preferred option for FM teams and procurement leads, and how your next fit-out or move could be both greener and smarter than you think. Thinking about your next office project? Contact our team and see how premium refurbished ergonomic chairs can give you comfort, savings, and sustainability in one.

Beyond Recycling: The Role of Office Furniture in a Truly Sustainable Economy

By Ida Gorecka • August 7, 2025
If you're here, you're probably managing a lot. A relocation, a refurbishment, or a growing ESG brief. Maybe you’re under pressure to meet sustainability targets, stay on budget, and deliver results your team and clients can actually see. And right now, office furniture might not be on your radar. But it should be. In most organisations, furniture is still treated as an afterthought. It’s functional, it’s bulky, and when it’s no longer needed, it’s often sent straight to landfill. But here’s the truth: when you start thinking of office furniture as a strategic asset within the circular economy , everything changes. For your budget . Your carbon reporting . Your project timelines . Your reputation . This article is for you if you’re tired of defaulting to skips. If you want smarter ways to meet ESG goals without blowing your budget. If you’re ready to make office sustainability a measurable advantage - not just a checkbox. We’ll show you just how much office furniture is wasted each year, what it’s really costing your business, and how the circular economy can apply directly to your projects. You’ll learn how organisations like yours are saving thousands, avoiding skips entirely, and turning unwanted furniture into reportable ESG wins - plus practical steps to get started today. Curious what your office clearance could be worth? Get in touch with our team for a free circular furniture audit.