PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Mark Lennon
The Institution Recycling Network
mlennon@ir-network.com
(603) 229-1962
Concord, NH (September 16, 2013) – Through the end of August 2013, IRN – The Recycling Network has provided more than 5.1 million pounds of surplus furniture and equipment to charities in the United State and overseas. The nearly 71,500 pieces of surplus filled 382 tractor trailers, which were sent to charities in eleven countries in Asia and the Americas, and to seven U.S. states.
IRN works with schools, hospitals, and businesses throughout the U.S. to match excess furniture and other assets with nonprofit relief and development agencies. IRN’s mission is to assure that usable surplus is reused where it is desperately needed, rather than being discarded. In 2013 through August, IRN has managed reuse projects for 92 different organizations in twenty states from Massachusetts to California. These include colleges and universities such as Rutgers, Georgetown, and the University of Notre Dame, corporations including Chevron, Siemens, and John Hancock, large healthcare organizations, and much smaller organizations like Deerfield Academy, The Fenn School, and local K-12 schools.
For all of these organizations, reuse provides a combination of social, environmental, and financial benefits. “This is a program with nothing but winners,” says Dr. Brenda Moeder, University of Central Missouri. “The University saves money, diverting material from landfill is a benefit to the environment, and most important our furniture is provided where it will be used and appreciated for years to come.”
According to Dana Draper, IRN’s head of Operations, the program is expanding rapidly. “More and more organizations are coming to understand that reuse isn’t just a feel-good thing,” he says. “Every organization has surplus that needs to disappear. Reuse turns surplus from a social and environmental liability into an asset, and costs less than throwing it away. When that realization clicks, we get the call.”
About IRN
IRN – The Recycling Network is a recycling firm based in Concord, NH. A major part of IRN’s mission is to place surplus furniture and equipment from schools, hospitals, government agencies, and corporations with charities in the U.S. and overseas. Since 2002 IRN has placed nearly 50 million pounds of surplus with charities. Apart from environmental and social benefits, the cost of placing surplus for reuse through IRN is typically 20% to 40% less than the cost of throwing the same material in dumpsters. IRN welcomes contact from any organization that has surplus which needs to be discarded.
