Skip to content

How To Get an Eco-friendly Kitchen and Save Money

second hand kitchen

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my terms & conditions for more info.

Whenever we buy anything new there will always be a GHG footprint related to that item including manufacturing, transportation and delivery. It’s almost impossible to not leave carbon footprint but there are certain things we can do to reduce ours.

Did you know that you can make an ethical purchase if you buy a used/ex-display kitchen, and, if you buy new – by trading in your used kitchen?

Kitchens are often made with large quantities of MDF which is carcinogenic and this ends up in the local landfill. Most kitchens are skipped unnecessarily rather than recycled. This is something that I hadn’t really considered before until I was made aware of a company called Used Kitchen Exchange.

So How Does it Work?

Used Kitchen Exchange

In the UK there are hundreds of beautiful kitchens in homes and showrooms that are no longer wanted but are still in excellent condition. Most of these kitchens get thrown away into landfill.

Used kitchen

Whether your aim is to save money, want your new kitchen to be an environmentally-friendly purchase or you want to make money on your existing kitchen, Used Kitchen Exchange can change the way you buy or sell a kitchen for the better.

‘We are a family run, multi-award winning business and we specialise in the resale of used (second hand) and ex-display kitchens’

Used Kitchen exchange has now sold 1000 kitchens, reaching the milestone this year. The company has saved the equivalent space of 10 football pitches from UK landfill.

‘We survey all the kitchens we sell, to validate their quality, take note of any damage and to draw up plans. In addition, we also send a professional photographer to the seller’s home, similar to when you sell a property, adding real value for the vendor’.

To make the process simple, Used Kitchen Exchange guarantees that all kitchens will be professionally removed and also offer delivery – they can also ensure storage requirements are met.

Whilst the service provides the eco-friendly choice for a used kitchen, there’s a financial benefit too. Some sellers have achieved prices in excess of £20,000 for their kitchen, proving that there’s a profit to be made from regeneration.

You May Also Like: Kitchen Essentials for Simple Living

Why Buy Second Hand?

How to get an eco-friendly kitchen & save money Buying second-hand goods reduces the requirement to manufacture new goods whilst also reducing the amount of waste ending up in landfill. Research has shown that buying used items reduces the carbon footprint and CO2 emission significantly compared to the complete life cycle of the product.

More often than not you can also get a better quality item second hand for less money than if you bought new. The owners of Used Kitchen Exchange themselves managed to get a used kitchen that was worth nearly £100,000 for only £5000. This is what encouraged them to set up their own used kitchen business.

Getting a new kitchen is something I have wanted to do for a while now but the cost and waste of our current kitchen have put me off. I hadn’t even considered buying a used kitchen or selling on our existing one, mainly because I didn’t know that was a ‘thing’. Now that I know we can do both of those things we are seriously considering going ahead.

I love the fact that this appeals to both my thrifty and eco side as more often than not the two don’t mix. Would you consider selling on your existing kitchen and replacing it with a regenerated one?
Gina Caro

Collaborative post with Used Kitchen Exchange

A Green and Rosie Life

8 thoughts on “How To Get an Eco-friendly Kitchen and Save Money”

  1. I didn’t realise this was a ‘thing’ either. I hadn’t considered that ex showroom kitchens would be landfilled! Mind you, a few years ago I carpeted my lounge with carpet that was used for an event – the sort of 5 days event you see happening at the NEC. Again I hadn’t considered what happened to these items and I was lucky enough to find some 3 miles from my home. The carpet is still in my lounge now, 12 years later – most likely because I was able to afford something way outside my price range thanks to it being a)an ‘offcut’ b) second hand and c)it was one man’s trash.

    1. Hi Rachelle,
      It always amazes me the number of products that get thrown away that still have plenty of life left in them.
      Love that you used event carpet for your home what a brilliant idea!

  2. The kitchen in the gite is second hand and came from friends who were having a new one. We are currently in the planning stages of a small extension to our house that will be our new kitchen so I am off to look at the Used Kitchen Exchange right now. We will however keep down the number of units we need as we are going to build a walk in larder for all our food and a lot of our kitchen “stuff” and we don’t need new appliances as we already have them in the existing kitchen. Now we have the plans hubby and I need to sit down and see how much we can “green” them! #GoingGreen

    1. Hi Rosie,

      We’re planning on updating our kitchen with pre-owned units. At the moment we have a mix of 2 different kitchens (don’t ask!) and I’m desperate to get something that matches.

      We used to have a walk in larder in our old home and I loved it!

      Hope your new kitchen is coming along nicely?

  3. Ex showroom kitchens being landfilled is an utter disgrace. It’s great to be able to save money and get an eco-friendly kitchen. Perfect!

    1. Hi Carolyn,

      You’re right it is a disgrace but at least there are companies out there that are trying to combat it. Small steps 🙂

I'd love to know what you think...

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.