Know What You’re Sitting On: A Furniture Teardown Workshop

Do you actually know what’s inside your office chair, and where it goes when you’re done with it? In this hands-on workshop, participants physically disassemble a task chair, uncovering the materials, fasteners, and design choices that most fit-outs never make visible. A live expert teardown follows, showing how each component is separated for recycling or landfill disposal. Then we unpack the recycling and upcycling pathways available in Hong Kong: what’s recoverable, where it goes, and what “recyclable” means in practice. Open to anyone responsible for sustainability commitments who wants to get their hands dirty.

Bring your curiosity. We will bring screwdrivers.

Session Learnings:

• Understand how office furniture is actually constructed and why that construction determines whether it can be recycled, refurbished, or only landfilled
• Learn to distinguish genuinely recyclable materials from “recyclable-sounding” ones, and where recoverable materials in Hong Kong are actually processed
• Explore real upcycling and recovery pathways available locally, with JEB/SOS on-the-ground expertise

Post-Event Actions:

• Initiate or revisit vendor and procurement conversations with a clearer framework for evaluating circularity claims, backed by first-hand knowledge of what’s actually recyclable versus recoverable
• Share the key takeaways with Facilities, Procurement, or leadership teams to inform upcoming fit-out or furniture decisions
• Explore how circular furniture procurement can contribute directly to your organisation’s Scope 3 emissions reduction goals and broader sustainability reporting commitments.
• Participate in the hands-on disassembly challenge for a chance to win a recycled-material notebook, with all attendees receiving a recycled pen as a tangible reminder of the circular economy in practice.