More Than 2,700 Items Diverted from Landfill to Support Humanitarian Efforts in Somalia
(Concord, NH) As Dover Middle School underwent renovations this summer, the Dover School District brought in the Office Moving Alliance (OMA) to oversee the project. Before new classroom furnishings could be installed, the district and OMA looked for the best solution to dispose of thousands of usable furnishings that were no longer needed.
That solution was The Reuse Network.
Over four days in July, The Reuse Network managed the removal of 2,714 pieces of furniture from Dover Middle School. These were loaded into seven overseas shipping containers and now in transit to communities in Somalia, in East Africa.
The project comes at a time when furniture disposal remains a significant environmental challenge. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans discard an estimated 12.15 million tons of furniture annually, with 80.1 percent ending up in landfills and only 0.3 percent being recycled. By choosing reuse, Dover and OMA kept more than 80,000 pounds of usable furniture out of American landfills while supporting humanitarian efforts abroad.
This marks the second major furniture reuse project completed by IRN for the Dover School District. In October 2018, 3,138 pieces of furniture weighing 157,459 pounds were removed from Dover High School and reused by nonprofit organizations serving Honduras, Kenya, Somalia, and Haiti. Together, the two Dover projects have diverted 5,852 pieces of furniture totaling 237,863 pounds from American landfills.
By choosing reuse over disposal, Dover School District and OMA demonstrated a shared commitment to environmental sustainability while ensuring quality furnishings continue serving those who need them most.
About The Reuse Network
The Reuse Network’s corporate mission is to keep usable excess furniture and equipment out of American landfills, by matching them with nonprofit organizations to be reused where they are needed for disaster and poverty relief, in the U.S. and around the world. Working nationwide with colleges and universities, independent and public schools, hospitals, and corporations, IRN is the largest and most experienced provider of this service in the United States. Since 2002, IRN has placed more than two million items for reuse by over 250 nonprofit organizations in 47 of the United States and in more than 70 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, helping to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and families across the globe.
About Office Moving Alliance
Office Moving Alliance (OMA) is a nationwide workplace services organization specializing in project management, commercial relocation, furniture installation, decommissioning, and related facility services. Through its network of experienced partners, OMA helps organizations successfully manage workplace transitions while supporting sustainable solutions for surplus furnishings.
Sources
Furniture waste statistics are based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2018) data, as summarized by Dropcurb – America’s Furniture Waste Crisis.
