Kringwinkel to collect used furniture at Ikea stores
Charity shop chain Kringwinkel will pick up furniture donations from the public at Ikea stores in Flanders and Brussels
Bring old furniture to Ikea
According to a study carried out by the Swedish-owned Ikea among more than 1,000 Belgians, people have no clear idea what to do with furniture they no longer want, with one in four storing it at home and nearly as many taking it to the rubbish dump.
The first Kringwinkel stands will appear in Ikea car parks next Monday in Zaventem, Ghent and Wilrijk. The Brussels district of Anderlecht follows on Tuesday, together with Spullenhulp, the Brussels equivalent of Kringwinkel.
There are 118 Kringwinkels in Flanders, which offer used items at low prices, much of which have been repaired or improved, and provide jobs for the disadvantaged. Profits in excess of operational costs go to environmental and social projects.
“Last year in Flanders, we collected 63,000 tonnes of goods,” said Danny Vercauteren, director of Kringwinkel Antwerp. “A dozen Kringwinkels are taking part. With this initiative we hope in time to collect another three tonnes a week, the equivalent of 75 customers a week.”
Ikea sustainability manager Caroline Gastaud emphasises that the project is not temporary. “There’s no fixed end date,” she said. “Ikea has launched similar initiatives in other countries, but this is the largest in scope.”
Olivier Baraille, CEO of Ikea Belgium, commented: “We see it as an investment. It costs money to provide this service to customers, but in the long term we think we can satisfy our customers better this way.”
Photo courtesy Kringwinkel
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