At a warehouse in Tønsberg, used furniture is carried into a van. A small round table is going to the town hall in the municipality, while a school has ordered a drawer section and a cupboard. – This is furniture that has been left over somewhere in the municipality, but which other businesses have use for, explains Elias Bjerkø. CIRCULAR ECONOMY: Mats Fritzøe Larsen, Christian Bye and Elias Bjerkø collect and deliver used office furniture for Tønsberg municipality. Photo: Aina Indreiten / news Ten young people have got a job He is one of four young men who work collecting and delivering furniture for Tønsberg municipality. They have now received two orders for furniture in “Godt nok”, the municipality’s internal online store for reusing furniture. Since its inception less than a year ago, the municipality has saved almost NOK 1.5 million on reuse, saved nearly seven tonnes of furniture from being thrown away and provided work for ten young people. Elias Bjerkø praises the municipality for investing in reuse. – There is far too much that gets thrown away in everyday life. When they renovated the school I went to, there were at least 4-5 large containers of furniture that were just thrown away. – If it had been now, we would have taken them in here and passed it on, he says. FURNITURE WAREHOUSE: In Tønsberg, used office furniture is stored until someone else makes use of it. Photo: aina indreiten / news – An insane waste 140,000 tonnes of office furniture is thrown away in Norway every year, according to GoGood. They are a company that specializes in helping businesses reuse furniture. The figures shock the young people at the furniture warehouse in Tønsberg. – It is absolutely sick to throw away furniture that can be used elsewhere, says Elias. The organization Framtiden in our hands is also reacting. – It is an insane waste of natural resources, greenhouse gas emissions and not least public funds, says leader Anja Bakken Riise. Anja Bakken Riise, head of Framtiden i våre hände Photo: André Børke 20 municipalities are starting Recycling has long been a trend among private individuals, but now the public sector is following suit. When Asker and Røyken and Hurum municipalities merged from 1 January 2020, they received help from the company Loopfront to establish an online portal for reusing furniture. Asker municipality saved NOK 11 million in the municipal merger on this. Now 20 municipalities and county councils have adopted the system, but there should be even more, says Framtiden in our hands. – We must get this across the country. All common sense dictates that we must have systems that ensure that municipalities reuse and take care of the furniture for as long as possible, says Riise. Saves a lot of money Tønsberg municipality adopted the Loopfront program just under a year ago, but has already saved money. – In terms of purchase value, we have saved NOK 1.45 million since we started the investment fully eight months ago, says Gjermund Aasen. He works in the Youth department at Nav in Tønsberg and is a supervisor in Godt nok, where the guys in the warehouse get job training. Gjermund Aasen in Tønsberg municipality checks the websites for new orders. Photo: Berit heggholmen / news A children’s egg for the municipality It is not just money to save on recycling. When Agder County Council moved its Vocational School into new premises, they saved 16.6 tonnes of waste by reusing furniture instead of buying new. Aasen explains that the program also calculates the climate footprint of the furniture. It is calculated based on the weight of the furniture they receive and entered into the database. – Of what we have registered, it is 6.6 tonnes. This gives a climate footprint of 76,000 kilograms of CO₂, explains Aasen. The online shop for used office furniture is described as an egg for the municipality. – There are three good things about this. We save money and the environment, while at the same time providing jobs for some, says Aasen. Teaches school children about reuse At Husvik School in Tønsberg, two used pieces of furniture are given new life. Teaching inspector Anita Gabrielli accepts what they have ordered. Anita Gabrielli, education inspector at Husvik school Photo: Aina Indreiten / news – We have got a jealousy cabinet for the health nurse and a row of drawers for our office lady, she explains. – What do you think about the fact that you can order used furniture and have it delivered to the school? – It is good for us at school, and we also teach the children about recycling. That we adults also make use of it. It is very positive, says Gabrielli.
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Municipalities save tons of furniture from the trash – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
