Our Glasgow Office Furniture Clearance Guide

Careful planning and project management are needed for office clearance. This office-clearing guide offers helpful pointers and suggestions on how to approach the situation.

1. Pick the items you want to Retain
2. The Timeframe For Finishing Your Office Clearance
3. Choosing The Best Office Clearance Company For The Job
4. Selling Secondhand Furniture Or Equipment To Maximise Refunds
5. Compliance And Proper Waste Disposal
6. Lastly…

Step #1. Pick the items you want to Retain

To point out the obvious, you must have a clear understanding of what has to be cleared before beginning an office cleaning operation. Before hiring an office clearance specialist, the only things that should be left on the site are those that you wish to get rid of. If not, you should spend some time making a list of everything you’ll be taking and leaving behind. Without it, the clearance company won’t be able to accurately predict how long the clearance would take, and you won’t be able to compare prices from several contractors.

Step #2. The Timeframe For Finishing Your Office Furniture Clearance

When must the property be cleared entirely? Choose a date and make adjustments from there. First, leave extra time for a backup in case the clearance takes longer than expected. The amount of contingency needed increases as clearance increases. The time it takes for the actual office clearance is another factor. Naturally, this would vary depending on the size of the house and how much garbage needs to be removed, but as long as there are no pressing constraints from outside sources, a general rule of thumb would be to allow one day for every three Luton van loads of junk removed.

Furthermore, you should give professionals at least a week to set their estimates and the necessary resources in their working calendars before beginning the clearing. In addition to increasing stress levels and the probability that deadlines won’t be met, requesting quotes sooner than this and expecting clearance companies to start and finish the job sooner will limit your choice of contractor to those businesses that are not already booked, which is typically the worst ones on the market. Also, because the recycle market is generally undynamic, it will significantly decrease your prospects of attaining major reuse either through sales to second-hand office furniture dealers or donations of things to charities.

Step #3. Choosing The Best Office Clearance Company For The Job

You must choose an office clearance professional to handle the job once you are aware of the objects that must be removed and have determined the necessary period. The 4 “R’s”—references, resources, rapport, and rates—are the secret to choosing the correct business. First, references. If your clearing is extensive and complicated, deal with a firm that has experience in this field and can offer reliable testimonials. Recommendations must be the latest as well as positive.

Evaluate their capabilities to see if they have everything they need to complete the clearing. A few temporary workers hired by an office clearance business to help with a big project are OK, but the project manager, the majority of the clearance teams, and the site team supervisor all need to be experienced. And finally, rapport. Before granting the office clearing contract, make it a point to request to see the operational team and not only the business development manager. At some point during the clearing, it’s going to get a little stressful, so you need to be working with people you get along with and who are effective communicators.

And lastly, rates. What will their prices be? Ask experts to supply not only the entire project cost but also a charge per van or truckload, the cubic capacity of their collection vehicles, and an estimate of how many loads they believe the clearance will be to make sure you receive competitive and knowledgeable estimates. This statistic will also give a valuable indication of the office clearance company’s level of expertise. Although a low price quotation resulting from a bad volume estimate may be a good thing, in reality, an incorrectly priced offer is more likely to cause project delays, unpleasant requests for additional payments, and all-around added annoyance.

Step #4. Selling Secondhand Furniture Or Equipment To Maximise Refunds

Any office clearance specialist worth their salt will have access to a network of specialised second-hand shops, nonprofits, and recycling businesses for donating office furniture and IT equipment. Therefore, don’t be afraid to ask them what they are thinking about in terms of reuse and recycling, as well as whether rebates will likely be available after they have visited your facilities. They need to at the very least discuss the division of loads into distinct categories like wood, paper, metal, and general mixed rubbish. They may mention the number of products that might be reused and inquire as to whether you would prefer to donate the items to charity or simply sell them.

Fascinatingly, the market for used office furniture, such as desks, office chairs, filing cabinets, and pedestals, is frequently relatively slow to move and only really effective for huge quantities of the same good-condition item. Small-scale furniture sales or donations take time, and unless the item has a particularly high value, the prices on the market will result in cost increases rather than decreases. Therefore, if you try to sell 20 used office chairs that are all different in terms of quality, specification, and condition, you probably won’t be using the proceeds to fly to Barbados! However, the second-hand office furniture market is likely to be interested in 100 identically styled modern desks in good shape, though you might have to wait a few weeks to locate a buyer who can accept them.

Additionally, functional IT equipment, in particular PCs, can be sold again. However, outdated computer displays and appliances containing refrigerants, such as air conditioners and refrigerators, are hazardous garbage and hence highly expensive to dispose of because they need to be done so in a specific manner. Always ensure the organisation you are working with can offer you the necessary documents and proof of where the waste electronics and electrical equipment (WEEE) is being sent. Keep in mind that WEEE disposal is a specialist sector and one that is heavily restricted.

Jettison Express Glasgow is one of Glasgow’s leading WEEE disposal and recycling firms, providing services to both people and businesses who need to dispose of electronic trash. Our WEEE garbage collection and disposal techniques have been refined through many years of expertise to the advantage of our customers and the environment, and the two are linked in all that we do.

Step #5. Compliance and Proper Waste Disposal

You must see to it that your trash is disposed of properly. You could face criminal charges and civil lawsuits for any harm caused to third parties if a contractor you hire removes your waste only for it to be unlawfully transported.

First, make sure the clearing company has the necessary insurance, health and safety procedures, and protocols in place for this kind of activity. Carriers with headquarters in Scotland are normally registered on SEPA, but any registration is acceptable. Always create a risk analysis for the project.

Once the clearing process has begun, you should get a waste transfer notice for each collection of rubbish the office clearance business makes from your site. The trash transfer note should include information such as the date, the collection address, the amount of garbage removed, and the names of your company and the waste contractor who will be collecting the waste.

You should also get a hazardous waste consignment notice outlining any hazardous waste goods that are removed, which are typically computer monitors, refrigerators, and air conditioners.

Remember that anything given away for reuse is not rubbish and won’t need a waste transfer letter. However, always get a receipt for any reuse collection that includes information on the goods that were taken, the date they were removed, and the organisation they were going to. This is for your internal records.

Although it is not yet required by law, it is becoming more typical for businesses undertaking an office clearance to receive a final report detailing what was taken, where it was taken, and how much was reused, refurbished, or disposed of. When materials are sent for recycling or are disposed of as general waste, it is more common for this waste to be described in terms of its waste type (e.g., paper & cardboard) and overall weight and volume. However, if reuse occurs, details will typically be provided of exactly which items were removed (e.g., 150 desks, 20 filing cabinets) (eg. 1250kg, 20 cubic yards). The contractor should also specify which waste facilities each waste load was delivered to and what percentage of that facility’s waste was redirected from landfills.

6. Lastly…

Congratulations on finishing this instruction manual. You most certainly have earned the right to relax in your office chair and sip some tea for five minutes. I hope in the process you didn’t empty the workplace kettle. However, if simply reading this guide has left you feeling worn out, give us a call or make an online appointment to have your workplace cleared out in double-quick time.