Recycling organization helps businesses rehome unwanted goods

Globechain is a reuse platform that donates to charities and potentially saves businesses big sums of money.

At the heart of it, the idea behind Globechain is a relatively simple one. Large companies spend vast amounts of money disposing of unwanted equipment, furniture and fixtures. How better would it be if there was a way to connect those companies with charities in desperate need of the items? For example, a large store chain may be looking to dispose of old store fittings. This means they would have to hire the staff and skips to help with the disposal. By going through Globechain, companies could make significant savings on the removal of fittings, which could then be taken to local charity shops and find a new home.

Globechain was founded by May Al-Karooni, who saw first-hand how much the bank she previously worked for spent to dispose of equipment and order new computers, fittings and furniture. She realized that if these items could be purchased by other organizations that may not have the budget to buy new equipment, then she’d be helping out both the business and the charity, increase the life of the goods and also reduce the amount of landfill waste.

Globechain is now very much a global community, with over 700 companies donating items and 10,000 potential charity recipients spread across six European countries. And its focus on recycling all industrial waste means that it handles items for sectors as diverse as retail, food, education, health and construction.

In a similar vein there’s a Dutch project that converts donated plastic waste into building blocks, and a national scheme that helps businesses reduce coffee cup waste. Are there any more ways for unwanted products to be recycled back into the larger community?