Surplus office furniture finds a purposeful new home

More than 5,000 items of Sunshine Coast Council office furniture have been rehomed and reused over the past two years.

The initiative has halted 60,000 kilograms of material ending up in landfill, prevented 177 tonnes in Co2 emissions and saved $44,580 in waste disposal costs.

Chairs, desks, drawers and whiteboards were just some of the items Council had in surplus as a result of the various office moves from Caloundra admin building, Horton Parade Maroochydore and the moves within Eddie De Vere at Nambour. 

Rather than disposing of these items, Council offered them to local not for profit organisations through the ASPIRE circular economy marketplace.

More than 20 local community organisations benefited from the furniture exchange including Care Outreach, Coolum SES Support Group, Gateway Care, Nambour Bowls Club, North Shore Community Centre, SunnyKids, Woombye Community Library and Yandina Tennis Club.

Care Outreach in Coolum is a charity that cares for the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of rural and outback families.

They repurposed furniture from Council’s Eddie De Vere office in Nambour to make their workplace shiny and new again.

Care Outreach Office Manager Suzi Eastgate expressed her gratitude for the furniture.

"We’ve done so much and replaced falling apart shelves with new shelving that is sturdy and stable and upgraded our boardroom, office, storage and stationery areas,” Suzi said.

“The whole set up is fantastic!”

Care Outreach Office Manager Suzi Eastgate.

Project Net Zero, a 100 per cent indigenous-owned social enterprise stepped in to handle the bulk of the furniture including delivering to local community groups who had expressed interest but did not have the capacity to collect.

Known for their dedication to rehoming and redistributing items through their own channels including a partnership with Givit, Project Net Zero ensured that even more items found new homes instead of being discarded.

Project Net Zero Co-Founder Aron Kurzydlo said it was a privilege to partner with Sunshine Coast Council to repurpose its no longer required office furniture.

“Through this partnership we were able to donate and support community organisations within the Sunshine Coast region,” Aron said.

“What an incredible social and environmental outcome!”

Additionally, many items were redistributed internally within Council (where suitable) across other staff workspaces, ensuring that functional furniture continued to be used.

The ASPIRE circular economy marketplace is available for local entities to connect and exchange unwanted resources.

Registration is free for Sunshine Coast ABN holders with fewer than 100 employees, making it an accessible option for small business and organisations looking to contribute to sustainability initiatives.

ASPIRE not only facilitates these exchanges but also tracks and provides reporting on the impact.

With spring around the corner, this is a timely reminder that what might be seen as waste can be a valuable resource to others.

As Council gradually upgrades its workspaces, more furniture will become available to community organisations on an ongoing basis.