Gardner-White's new warehouse features recycling facility

Gardner-White Furniture is about as high tech as they come when it comes to recycling.  The 101-year-old furniture retailer has its own mini recycling facility right on site at its Auburn Hills headquarters.  As you can imagine, they go through plenty of cardboard.  All that furniture comes in some pretty big boxes.

"Either we're going to pay to have it hauled away and put it in a landfill or this way most of it's recycled," said Steve Tracey.

Gardner-White's president says back in the day they burned it and then all those boxes went into landfills.  Now the cardboard is chopped up into bales that weigh about 1,300 pounds each.  They recycle about 20,000 pounds a week.

The company actually recycles it's own Styrofoam, too.  It's sold and reused after being processed through a machine.

"We're in a world of diminishing or dwindling resources.  We have to make better use of what we have and use it again," Tracey said.

Gardner-White spent more money up front to be earth friendly when they renovated their new, 455,000 square foot headquarters.  The whole facility is filled with energy efficient LED lighting.  In the warehouse they use motion detectors so the lights only burn when they're needed, and in the showroom they provide plenty of light at a cooler temperature.

"We've done a lot of electronics with Best Buy and we recycle all that product, too," said Tracey.  "Long term to be environmentally friendly is actually pretty cost efficient."

The first Gardner-White store opened in 1912.  You can check out their newest facility on North Atlantic near Great Lakes Crossing, and now you know what happens to all those boxes while you're there.