Disposing Debris The Right Way 101

Learn how to get cash for your trash! along with other money saving ways to reduce renovation waste.


Whether you're updating a room or gutting the entire house, chances are you have piles of junk taking up valuable Real Estate. No problem finding a ton of takers for the claw foot tub, but what about the stuff you can't unload on Craigslist or Ebay? You've got garbage, but you're not alone. Lets take a look at some ways you can do the right "Green" thing with what would be considered trash.

Carperting:

In the words of National Association of Home Builders, " The bulkiness of carpet and padding waste can make disposal VERY costly. Today's Manufactuers are making an effort to help give you a push in the recyclying way instead.

• If your carpet is in good shape without stains or big worn patches, donate it.

• If you have damaged carpet or worn carpet or area rugs, click on a map at the Central America Recovery Effort website (carpetrecovery.org/waste.php) where you can find a place to drop it off for recycling.

• IF YOU MUST DUMP IT... ask the sanitation department when & how to put the rugs out on the curb.

White Goods

These Big, bulky items--- your dishwasher, washing machine, clothes dryer, Fridge, & Freezer--can push a job-site container to overflowing without even trying.

• If you have a Vintage stove or refigirator, sell it to a dealer or restorer such as AntiqueAppliances.com

• If your appliances still work and are somewhat on the new side, ask a second hand store if they will pick them up such places like the Salvation Army or Goodwill will give you a tax reciept in which you can use as a write off at the years end.

• If you have no other takers and can use a few bucks, consider selling your old appliances for scrap. Dealers normally pay aout 10 cents per pound which can equal $30-$80 per appliance. However, Please note they WILL NOT accept appliances which contain coolaint.

Lumber & Scrapwood
It may grow on trees--- but all the more reason to recycle if you can.

• If you have unused tongue and groove flooring, take it to a dealer or resale store. These places may also want large pieces of undamaged lumber and wooden doors. Even our company EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations will take old undamaged doors, locks,handles, as well as molding and furniture which we refinish and resell and donate the proceeds to local charities. You can contact us at www.ezfurnitureassembly.com

• If you have lumber scraps or left over pieces of raw lumber, contact a wood waste dealer for recycling purposeing. You may have to pay a small fee, but it would be far less than what it would cost at a disposal agency.

• Also place an ad on Craigslist for free scrapwood now that winter is here many people could probaly welcome it if they still have wood burning stoves and heaters.

This is all we have today but we will be posting more GREEN recycling tips throughout the next few weeks so keep checking back because YOU do make a difference!

Please contact us at www.ezfurnitureassembly.com with any questions or ideas on how and what else we can recycle.

EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations is Going Green

Hello Everyone!

I am very pleased at the emails I have received in regard to our postings, thank you! We do our best to provide you with information that is important, intriguing, and a pleasure to read while providing our opinion or point of view. I, myself, try to stay focused on furniture assembly retailers, new ideas or products, and an interesting story or two which we believe you will find of interest as well. However, as many of you already know I am the President & founder of both EZ Furniture assembly & Interior Innovations, LLC. And for the ones who have followed my writings you know that I started with no more than a few screwdrivers and a passion to make my dream a reality. I worked very hard to get where our company is today, and give great thanks to my customers who have became friends, as well as my wonderful staff who took pride in what they did, whether it was returning a call or building a kitchen. I have learned a lot about myself, the business, and the industry as a whole over the last few years and have decided to make some changes.

We are the first furniture assembly and kitchen cabinet installation company to go Green. Until I really reached a level where we were noticed as a real competitor and serious business in this industry I was unaware of all the things we could be doing to help our environment. I began to receive publications from companies that produced periodicals that related directly to our industry as a whole. A lot of what I began reading was foreign to me because most of the companies were far larger than mine, and it was a bit hard to relate. However, it took someone outside my company to show us how much we have grown and how we really do relate to these companies. The most interesting fact I found was that the vast majority of the companies I was reading about started just like me. Then I felt the relation, not yet brothers but maybe a close cousin. Right now protecting the environment is a hot topic which I find several articles relating to it in every publication I receive. The more I read the more i understood how we could be a much better company by making just a few small changes that have actually benefited us more than I ever could have imagined. I have always frowned on litter bugs and people who dumped illegally and so forth, but never paid much attention to water consumption and using rechargeable batteries, or how much we were hurting our environment by using our older vans to go to each job site. The more I read the more I began to make changes within our company.

Today we are a Green company. I decided to sell all but one of service vans that is used only for jobs that are located where public transportation is no available, or is needed to pick up materials for a job in which we order all the materials at one time so we only use the van once. I drew up a blueprint of how to make a portable tool chest that actually was much more, and allowed our technicians to use it on every job and since it's base is a dolly or hand truck they can take on the subway or bus while still appearing professional and able to carry all the needed tools. We also no longer just trash our old cabinets, we take them down just as they were put up so there is no damage and donate them to a needy family. If we do a full renovation we try to use as much Eco friendly material as possible and educate our customers on the benefits of using certain green and energy saving products over more traditional materials. We are about to launch a new program where we explain to the customer that we do our best to be a green company and then tell them about the importance of recycling cellular phone batteries, and that if they have any old batteries we would be happy to take them to a local drop off center for recycling.

To many it may not seem like a lot, but I am happy with our progress and in time we will implement more programs and policies to do our part. If you have gone green and have any tips or suggestions please feel free to add your comment or feedback here.

Thanks again!
Christopher Purnell