FAQs about Generator Services


What does reuse cost?

One of IRN’s top priorities is making sure the reuse of your surplus furnishings makes financial sense. On top of being the most environmentally and socially beneficial option to dispose of unneeded items, partnering with IRN can cost  as much as 20% to 30% less than throwing your surplus in the dumpster.

What are the benefits of reuse?

Reuse of surplus furnishings through IRN delivers a Social, Environmental, and Financial triple bottom line.

Socially: IRN gets the most out of your unneeded assets by partnering with charities that are in desperate need of usable furniture and equipment. Once the trucks are packed, they are sent to an IRN partner charity for distribution and use in the U.S. or overseas. In 2015, items reused through generators like you reached 26 countries and 29 states.

Environmentally: On a typical project we are able to place more than 95% for reuse, and nearly all of the rest can be recycled for commodity value. In 2015 we disposed of less than 0.5% of the materials we handled; more than 99.5% were reused or recycled.

Financially: Depending on regional disposal prices, reuse through IRN costs from a few percent to as much as 30-35% less than throwing surplus away. We pride ourselves on that statement – the result of more than a decade’s work to assure we can make the right match with the right charity using the right transportation lane to make reuse possible at the lowest cost.

How else can we benefit from reuse through IRN?

Reuse makes great public and community relations. After every project we provide a conclusion report with detailed information on what items were removed from your site(s), who they were provided to, and where they went. These are excellent material for press and publicity within your organization and in your broader community. Reuse reflects your commitment to sustainability, and IRN helps document your success.

What type of furniture and equipment do you reuse?

Everything including the kitchen sink… literally. We can find homes for tables, desks, chairs, storage and file cabinets, library shelving, carrels, mattresses, beds, bureaus, wardrobes, healthcare diagnostic and test equipment, drug and supply carts, hospital beds, gurneys, walkers, IV poles, reception and lounge furnishings, lab benches, fume hoods, office supplies, school supplies, and so much more. We’ve even decommissioned ice rinks (and Zambonis), gym floors, and Astroturf football fields. If you can imagine someone using it, we’ll find someone to use it.

How much time do we need to organize a project?

Generally, we need about ten working days to plan, match your inventory with our charitable network, set up and confirm logistics.  Large scale projects require more time.  In a pinch, the process can sometimes be expedited.

How much surplus furniture and/or equipment do we need in order to work with IRN?

IRN’s most common forms of transportation are 40-foot ocean shipping containers and 48-foot or 53-foot tractor-trailers. A 40-foot container holds, on average, about 175 pieces of furniture – more if the inventory has lots of small items like chairs, less if the inventory includes lots of desks, wardrobes, or other large items. A tractor-trailer holds about 25% more than that, about 220 pieces on average.

But don’t let those numbers keep you from calling IRN. We work with dozens of local and regional charities who are able to accept much smaller inventories – as few as a half dozen items in some cases.