New life for furniture at schools, upper secondary schools and youth centres
School, upper secondary and youth centre furniture rarely end up breaking down. The Growth and Learning Sector follows sustainable development principles by recycling and repairing its furniture for further use. Deft hands at the sector's workshop also transform new ideas into furniture. For example, an old milk cart may end up becoming a long-awaited laptop cart for a school.
When a piece of furniture at an educational institution needs repair, the school can ask it to be repaired. And if the piece of furniture is no longer necessary, it can be given to the city and be recycled at another location. If a facility needs a completely new piece of furniture, they can place an order through the Growth and Learning Sector’s renovated range. They also repair and renovate furniture at all levels of school and youth centres. In addition to a furniture master, the workshop includes five restorers, who repair furniture at the schools or the workshop, and carry them to their new homes. Four members of the team travel from school to school, repairing the equipment at the technical crafts classrooms. Reupholstering or electrical work are not a part of the furniture team’s services, but other than that, they can also design and customise pieces upon request and needs.
“There’s a lot of creativity in the workshop team. We just finished a set of easy-to-move stage stairs for Laajalahden koulu, and laptop carts have also been exceedingly popular. We try to make these out of recycled materials,” says Kimmo Fonsell, the furniture master.
The workshop receives its materials from decommissioned furniture. Using recycled furniture significantly reduces both the need to purchase new ones and the waste management costs, which serves sustainable development and is cost-effective. They prefer to use solid wood because of its durability and potential for further reuse. They also work with a few select companies to bring in surplus office furniture for the children, young people, and school personnel.
Espoo has a long tradition of refurbishing, repairing and recycling furniture. The workshop, which operates at Espoonlahden koulu ja lukio, has been there since the 1980s. Despite the long history, the city keeps trying to develop and streamline the furniture recycling processes. This is done to make sure that every piece of furniture is recycled and reused as quickly as possible, as keeping them in storage is also a resource cost. There is also an effort to automate the order process. However, the most important focus of the workshop is the furniture at learning environments for children and young people and to ensure good work ergonomics for personnel. In case of a significant need, the workshop may find a suitable chair for a pupil on the same day.
“What’s most rewarding about our work is helping to create a safe and good learning environment. Delivering new desks is always a fantastic moment, seeing children receive new furniture that’s been repaired just for them. The same employee may pick up the furniture at the school, repair it, and deliver it back to the school. This means we get to see the whole process from a first-row seat,” describes Fonsell.
In 2024, the furniture team recycled, refurbished and delivered 2 879 pieces of furniture and repaired 941 pieces still in use at schools. Learn more about the figures regarding furniture recycling and refurbishing at Espoo Climate Watch.
