Case Study in Reuse

AECOM Oakland, CA

IRN – The Reuse Network 7 South S tate S t ree t , Su i te 2 · Concor d , New Hampsh i r e 033 01

T e lephone : 6 0 3 -2 29- 196 2 · w eb s i te : w w w . i rns urp lu s .com

IRN The Reuse & Recycling Network

Situation: Removal of furnishings from approximately 100 offices,

conference room, and break rooms in six hour timeframe.

Material: Desks, bookcases, file cabinets, seating, conference room

furniture, break room equipment, and miscellaneous office

furnishings.

Setting: Urban high-rise office building.

Overview

As a global provider of professional technical and management support services, AECOM has long been com-

mitted to sustainability. In September 2015, AECOM Oakland offices were faced with a tight schedule for re-

location to newly expanded office space. The move involves furniture redeployment and surplus furniture

excess. In accordance with company environmental policy AECOM sought a solution that would save 30 tons

of surplus furniture from the landfill.

AECOM reached out to IRN for assistance. IRN’s mission is to provide options for reuse and/or recycling of

excess furniture and related assets, with the goal of Zero Landfill. IRN evaluated the client’s inventory against

its network of charitable partners and determined that almost all of the surplus furnishings could be placed

for reuse.

Implementation

The total inventory of 4,000 items was located on the 18th and 19th floors. The

timeframe for redeployment of surplus was less than 24 hours, including a seven

hour window for loading four tractor trailers with 686 surplus items. Time and

volume were the looming challenges. Bulky furnishings had to be packed with

optimum trailer utilization and very quick load times in order to avoid trucking de-

lay costs.

With only two elevators to work with, movers relocated the redeployed furniture

to the new building area from Friday night until Saturday morning. The first truck

for the surplus furniture arrived Saturday at noon. An 18 person crew pushed fur-

niture from the staging area to the street for loading. The next two trucks arrived

at about 2:00 pm and were simulta-

neously loaded. The final truck ar-

rived two hours later. By 7:00 pm the

project was complete. All trucks were

packed tightly with a mix of furniture

that was highly desirable to the

receiving non-profit organizations.

Case Study in Reuse

AECOM Oakland, CA

IRN – The Reuse Network 7 South S tate S t ree t , Su i te 2 · Concor d , New Hampsh i r e 033 01

T e lephone : 6 0 3 -2 29- 196 2 · w eb s i te : w w w . i rns urp lu s .com

IRN The Reuse & Recycling Network

Destinations

Composition

California Charter Schools

With declining budgets and rising enrollment,

charter schools are taking an innovative approach

to furnishing classrooms, offices, and common

areas. Two shipments totaling 342 items were

sent to a charter school in Acton, Ca.

Managua, Nicaragua

IRN charitable partner Food for the Poor provides

desks, seating, tables, and storage furniture for

schools, homes, orphanages and clinics. A ship-

ment of175 items was sent to Nicaragua.

“I am very happy to have found a solid resource that not only recy-

cles, but whom works with a network of global charities to put ex-

cess office product to practicable use. IRN is truly one of those hid-

den gems.”

Sandra Bresson, Regional Senior Facilities Manager

AECOM Americas Real Estate Services

Item Count Weight (lbs)

Desks 58 10,061

Bookcases 112 7,875

Caster Chairs 121 4,114

Side Chairs 30 990

Stacking Chairs 37 629

File Cabinets 218 23,674

Tables 3 433

Office Supplies 7 735

Other Storage 81 8,780

Other seating 6 705

Other 13 506

Totals: 686 58,502

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat ReStores sell repurposed furniture at low

cost to help low income families furnish their

homes and to support Habitat’s mission to provide

decent and affordable shelter. One shipment was

sent from AECOM to a Habitat ReStore in Clovis, Ca.