Okay, so technically we aren’t “going green” – because we already have! However, there’s always room for improvement. We want to be a green business, and here’s why. Here at Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet, we have been extraordinarily blessed. We’ve always done our best to pass that blessing onto our customers by always offering the best possible furniture at the lowest possible prices. But with these blessings comes a certain amount of responsibility on our part. Call it corporate social responsibility. Call it the pursuit of environmental sustainability. Regardless of the term used, we came to the realization that a business of our size can create a large amount of waste that is otherwise recyclable. Why not do something about it?
Starting in late 2018, we moved all warehouse operations to our new Distribution Center at 6050 Old Alabama Rd in Acworth. Complete with a massive warehouse, office space, and a customer drive-thru, the Distribution Center allowed us to bring all of our warehousing under one roof. But that’s not all it did. This move also allowed us to greatly expand our recycling efforts.
How Do WFMO’s Green Business Policies Promote Environmental Sustainability?
Industries like ours involve shipping and receiving literal tons of merchandise. Each sofa, bedroom set, or dining table you find in our showroom had to be shipped from somewhere. Unfortunately, that shipping process involves lots of packing materials such as wood, cardboard, paper and polystyrene (often known as Styrofoam). Additionally, we offer to dispose of old mattresses as an optional part of our furniture delivery service. These materials represent the bulk of our recyclable waste. So obviously that’s where we got to work looking for green business solutions!
Cardboard & Paper Waste
Fortunately, we can recycle wood, cardboard, and many plastics relatively easily with modern technology. Going green has never been easier. Which is why it’s such a shame that many companies neglect their basic corporate social responsibility to do so. Recycling even a single ton of cardboard will save 20 mature trees, 46 gallons of gasoline, 7,000 gallons of water, and 4,000 kilowatt hours of electricity – enough to power the average American home for over 4 months! This is why we have our own cardboard baler. As furniture is unboxed at our warehouse, all excess cardboard is compacted into bales for easy recycling.
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)
Many people know that Styrofoam can take centuries (or even millennia) to decompose. But did you know that we are increasingly able to recycle polystyrene? A key to environmental sustainability is our ability to recycle and re-purpose polystyrene before it reaches the landfill. This is why we process it on-site! Our special machine takes the lightweight foam, grinds it down, and melts it into highly compact bricks or ingots for easier transport to the recycling facility. This material is eventually used for everything from road and bridge construction to consumer plastics.
Mattress Recycling
Lastly, did you know that a typical mattress takes up to 80 years to decompose in a landfill? The good news is that roughly 80% of the components within your old mattress are recyclable. That’s one reason why we offer to dispose of them for our customers! Instead of going into the trash, we are able to recycle the quilting, cotton, felt, foam, plastic, wood, and steel found inside. These various components are able to be re-used in many ways, including carpeting, insulation, bio-fuels, and more!
The Results
I’m sure you’re thinking, “This is all great in theory, but what good has it really done?” Well, quite a lot actually! In the first full year of implementation, we’ve recycled over 4,100 mattresses and box springs and nearly 10 tons of polystyrene! Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet is proud to announce the following. Our recycling program has saved:
- 6,138 mature trees
- 14,260 gallons of oil
- 1,742 cubic tons of landfill space
- Approx. 1.25 million kilowatt hours of energy (enough to power 115 American homes for an entire year!)
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 312 metric tons of carbon
North Georgia is Going Green with Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet!
Come shop any of our 7 convenient metro Atlanta furniture and mattress stores today! Buy with confidence knowing that we’re passionate about recycling and that you’ll be helping us keep Georgia clean for generations to come! Now that you’ve read about our own green business practices, we hope it will inspire you to do the same. Did you miss our post a few weeks ago about green living? If so, check out these six easy life changes that will help you save money and energy this year!
Lastly, stay tuned next week as we kick off our new series on common sleep disorders and ways to address them. See you then!
