9 Modern Ways to Recycle Your Old Furniture
January 6, 2021The U.S. population alone spends over $120 billion on new furniture every year. And, according to the 2018 Generation of Furniture and Furnishings in MSW, discarded furniture accounts for about 5 % produced each year in America. This amounts to approximately 12.1 million tons of the total household waste. This underlines the need for modern ways to recycle your old furniture and help cut down on waste. Here are a few modern ways to recycle your old furniture:
1. Donate it to Charity Shops
One of the most common interior design mistakes is keeping things you don’t like. If your items or furniture are in good condition, the things you do not wish to keep could end up improving someone else’s life. While dropping it all off at a Goodwill or similar stores is always an option, you can also list all your items on several websites, such as Freecycle, for people who might be interested in them.
2. Rent Garbage Disposal Equipment or Hire an Environmentally-Friendly Waste Management Company
If your old furniture is not in good condition, you can still get rid of it and divert it away from overflowing landfills by renting garbage disposal equipment or hiring an environmentally-friendly waste management company.
This helps you get rid of old furniture you can’t give away and helps you reduce potentially harmful waste. Waste equipment rentals are available worldwide and are affordable ways to prioritize responsible disposal.
3. Donate it Via Furniture Reuse Network
This is a globally functioning agency that connects people in need of cheaper furniture with the ones who want to discard theirs. They develop and work with several furniture reuse operations and charities. As long as your furniture is still in good condition, you can use it to help find your furniture a new home.
4. Recycle it
One of the ways to incorporate natural wood into your custom home is with furniture made of it. The bonus is that if your furniture is made of wood, metal, or other recyclable material, you can give it to the local community recycling facility.
This is a great way to, literally, recycle your old furniture and also reduces the need for new resources while saving the energy to build new ones.
5. Upcycle it
Upcycling is the act of reusing, repurposing, or remodeling discarded objects or materials to create something new.
This option provides a great opportunity to wear your creative DIY hat, dive into Pinterest or other how-to ideas, and transform your unwanted furniture into new beautiful pieces.
Once you’ve created something new, you can either keep it for yourself, give it to someone else, or sell it. Who knows? You might discover a profitable hobby that you love!
6. Sell it
If your old furniture has been well-maintained and is still in great condition, you can sell it. Use the internet to get in touch with people who might be interested in buying your old stuff.
Your beloved furniture will find a new place while you raise a few extra bucks. If you like to socialize, you can also arrange a fun yard or garage sale.
7. Trade it
Who doesn’t like a discount on new furniture in exchange for trading old ones, right? If your unwanted furniture is in good condition, you can choose to exchange it to dial down your cost of upgrading to newer options.
8. Turn to a Local Stage School or Theatre
Do some more good for the community by donating your aged looking sofas and other items as stage props to support local artists and their new productions. Your furniture will be repurposed in addition to being used well again.
9. Organize a Yard Sale
Yard sales are another efficient way to generate some income that you can then keep or apply to reducing your new furniture costs. A garage or yard sale will make sure your old furniture finds a lovely home and continues to serve its purpose.
These are just a few modern ways to recycle your old furniture. By opting for any of them, you can ensure that your furniture doesn’t end up in a landfill or a scrapyard.
Author Bio:
Erich Lawson is passionate about saving the environment through effective recycling techniques and modern innovations. He works with Compactor Management Company and writes on a variety of topics related to recycling, including tips and advice on how balers, compactors, and shredders can be used to reduce industrial waste. He loves helping businesses understand how to lower their monthly garbage bills and increase revenue from recycling.