Some Australian households still rely on the ‘curbside approach’ when disposing of their furniture. Once they decide a piece of furniture is no longer useful, they leave it on their curbside and wait for it to end up in the landfill.
This may sound like another one of those harmless habits, but it’s not. Two major factors are working together to accentuate the consequences of this tendency. On the one hand, there is a fast increase in the production of fast furniture meaning, over time, the time between when a person buys a piece of furniture and when they generally have to dispose of it is becoming shorter. On the other hand, the population is growing, blowing up the quantities of waste furniture the country has to deal with.
Greater Sydney, in particular, has a significant number of households. A survey conducted among a sample of 2,500 metropolitan households estimated that each household could dispose of wooden furniture weighing around 24 kg annually. This suggests that a substantial amount of furniture could be filling up landfills in Sydney each year.
So, when thinking of disposing of your waste well, it helps to remember where it fits in the grand scheme of things. You will be contributing to a more sustainable city and, ultimately, country.
How To Not Clog Up Landfills With Your Furniture
The problem of furniture waste, although prevalent, is probably among the easiest to deal with. It’s important to put in some thought before you decide which route to take.
- Recycling
If a piece of furniture has been worn beyond reasonable repair, you might be looking at a good candidate for recycling. A company with sustainable junk removal and recycling services, such as dirtcheaprubbishremoval.com.au, will be a good fit and will do the heavy lifting for you (literally and otherwise).
They will help you sort the recyclables from those that will need proper breaking down and disposing of. They have expert experience in getting the job done and ensuring they are leaving as little environmental footprint as possible.
- Donating
But perhaps before you can even call that junk removal service, you’ll need to sort through your items and decide which ones are still in good shape enough to be used by someone else.
To assess this for the pieces with cushions, you’ll need to squeeze them and then see how quickly they adjust back to their original position. If the cushion stays compressed, it has lost most of its comfort and vice versa. Look at structural wear and tears as well on your furniture.
The ones that are still in reasonable shape but you want to replace for one reason or another, you may then donate to any of the non-profits that take in such items. You can look them up online, make a call, and arrange for them to come and pick up the furniture instead of you taking the heavy loads to them.
The other good thing about this? You can claim a tax deduction based on the value of your donation!
- Selling
If, in your assessment of your furniture, you’d like to unlock greater value from it than just giving it away, then selling your furniture is a great option. The reason why it’s not the first option is this may not be a top option for you as well. But if you didn’t already know that furniture with barely noticeable wear can fetch good money if you list it, then here is the piece of knowledge.
Just remember that transparency will be key. Make known to your potential buyer any defects your furniture may have otherwise. You may have to deal with refunds and, worst of all, have the item back in your yard again! So, clean your furniture up, take great pictures, and cover all important angles—a buyer will need all the help they can get to imagine how it will fit into their home.
If you succeed in this route, it will be something and can even cover some of the cost of new furniture.
Conclusion
Australia’s furniture problem, fortunately, can be dealt with one household at a time. The statistics can be intimidating, but it helps to remember that it starts with simple steps like researching the most environmentally sustainable ways to get rid of your furniture. The cumulative effect of each home becoming much more conscious of its environmental footprint in all aspects of its living, including junk removal, will significantly offset the rate at which furniture piles up in landfills.
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