2 minute read
How Jönköping Municipality turned furniture reuse into the default choice
Furniture reuse isn’t a new idea for municipalities, but making it work at scale is another story. In our webinar Jönköping Municipality shared how they transformed an informal reuse initiative into a professional, data-driven system that saves millions, reduces CO₂ emissions, and creates meaningful jobs.
Reuse professionalised
Jönköping Municipality employs around 13,000 people across eight departments. For years, furniture reuse existed, but mostly in an informal, analogue way. About six years ago, Arno Willemse, who leads the municipality’s reuse program, Möbelcirkeln, decided it was time to professionalize it.
The key step? Digitalisation.
🎥 Watch webinar
By digitalising furniture reuse, Jönköping created:
1. Transparency across the organisation
2. Traceability of furniture assets
3. Equal access for all departments
4. A professional, webshop-like experience employees could trust
As Arno puts it, reuse must be simpler than buying new. If it’s not easy, people won’t change their behaviour.
How reuse works in Jönköping Municipality
Möbelcirkeln is based just outside Jönköping. The warehouse is at the heart of the operation, this is where all furniture no longer in use is collected from the municipality’s various departments. A truck transports the items to the site, where they are carried into the workshop and storage area for inspection. Can they be reused?
In the vast majority of cases, the answer is yes. Committed staff repair, clean, photograph, and catalogue the furniture so it can be redistributed to other municipal departments. For as many as 70–80 per cent of items, however, a simple wipe-down is all that is needed before listing them on the Palats marketplace, according to Arno.
1. Furniture is identified
A school, office, or department reports unused furniture.
2. Pickup and inspection
The reuse team collects the items, inspects them, cleans them, and makes minor repairs if needed.
3. Digital furniture library with Palats
Items are photographed, registered, and published in Palats where employees can browse and reserve furniture.
4. Reservation
Employees reserve items as needed through Palats.
5. Delivery and circulation
Furniture is delivered to its new location—and often circulates multiple times within the municipality.
A warehouse built for reuse
Jönköping’s reuse warehouse is organised like a professional logistics operation:
- Furniture is sorted by category, condition, and demand
- High-demand items move fast; “cold” items are stored separately
- Clear inbound and outbound zones ensure smooth handling
Reuse kept in motion through labor market programs
Möbelcirkeln is staffed largely through labour market programmes. Participants, many far from the traditional job market, work alongside three supervisors and gain practical skills (repairs, logistics, digital tools), structure and work routines, confidence and work experience and a sense of purpose through climate-positive work.
Today, around 15–20 people work in the program daily, depending on schedules and capacity. For many participants, this becomes a stepping stone to jobs or further studies.
Leadership, routines, and mindset change
With 13,000 employees, behaviour change doesn’t happen overnight. Jönköping’s success rests on three pillars:
Leadership support – Politicians and senior management have made reuse the first choice.
Clear routines – Employees are expected to check the reuse library before buying new.
Easy-to-use tools – The digital marketplace looks and feels like an online shop .
The results speak for themselves
Each year, Jönköping municipality saves 13–15 million SEK in avoided new purchases and reduces significant CO₂ emissions. The entire reuse program operates on a budget of about 4 million SEK per year. The program more than pays for itself, financially, environmentally, and socially.
Work remains to ensure that everyone checks the furniture library first. Funds spent unnecessarily on new furniture could instead be used to hire additional staff in schools. Saving 13 million SEK per year, is the equivalent of funding around 13 full-time teachers. Numbers like that resonate.
Lessons for municipalities just getting started with reuse
Looking back, Arno's one regret is not involving procurement and IT even earlier. Arno's advice to others who are just getting started:
- Start simple
- Digitalise early
- Build a clear structure
- Start small – but start
Want to see how Palats can help your municipality?
Book a demo or contact us to hear how other municipalities have done it.
