Group Purchasing Through the IRN

Where can you get a great deal on a 35-gallon office recycling cart, order three dozen deskside bins, and in the same phone call set up a favorable lease-to-own for a cardboard compactor?  The answer:  There’s only one organization in the country that can handle these and dozens of other recycling-related purchases, and that’s the IRN.

Since IRN and its members started the Group Purchasing Program six years ago, we have worked with member and non-member organizations to purchase balers, compactors, dumpsters, roll off containers, 35-, 65-, and 95-gallon wheeled carts, office recycling containers, wheeled hampers and much more, a total of close to three dozen items used in the collection processing, or shipping of recyclable materials.  Just about any item needed to set up and run a recycling program can be acquired through IRN’s group purchasing program. 

From Day One, this has been a member-driven initiative.  All group purchasing items have been added based on member needs and requests.  As a result, the IRN purchasing program is completely tailored to the needs of recycling program managers, and we’ve handled requests for literally dozens of different items of recycling supplies and equipment.  So whatever it is you need, from a 2 gallon deskside container to a 35-yard compactor, call to see if it’s on the list.  If so, we can set up the purchase immediately.  If an item you need is not on the list, we’ll find vendors to supply and support the product.

Here’s another reason the program works to your advantage.  Vendors are eager to work with the IRN because we bring them multiple new accounts, and because it’s easier for them to deal with one source of orders than with dozens of individual institutions.  As a result, and because of the volume represented by over 120 IRN members, we are able to negotiate great deals for the group purchasing program, and pass these savings along to our member institutions. 

The program also succeeds because products purchased through the IRN come with field-tested credibility – our members recommend, and we purchase, only the products they’ve used successfully.  Organizations also use the IRN as a conduit to contact each other and compare notes and experience before they decide on a purchase.  Finally, with IRN’s group purchasing there are no salespeople hammering at members’ doors; most enjoy this simple, no-gloss, no-hype marketing approach.