How to Recycle Sofas

Large items such as sofas might not be the easiest things in the world to recycle, or even dispose of, but recycling them is worthwhile. It requires energy just to transport sofas to a dump, you might have to pay a fee to dispose of it and making new sofas consumes energy and raw materials. For economic and environmental reasons, investigate the different ways to recycle an old sofa before sending it to the nearest dump.

Instructions

- 1
  Determine whether you really need a new sofa. If you simply do not like the appearance of your old one, it is cost-effective to add new coverings rather than purchasing a brand new sofa.
- 2
  Contact friends, family members and acquaintances to discover whether anybody you know is in need of a sofa. People moving into unfurnished homes for the first time may well need furniture.
- 3
  Sell your sofa, if it is still in excellent condition. Local advertising and sites such as eBay are avenues to investigate.
- 4
  Donate your sofa. Local charities may need pieces of furniture in usable condition for their own use to redistribute or to sell. Some specialize in collecting old furniture for reuse.
- 5
  Offer your sofa on a site such as Freecycle. Someone wanting the sofa will come and collect it.
- 6
  Locate a business or recycling center that recycles large items of furniture. Earth911 has a useful search function on its website.
- 7
  Dismantle your sofa. The soft parts of a sofa, such as the coverings and stuffing, make a suitable filling for cushions and soft toys. If you do not make such things yourself, you may have a friend who does. Otherwise contact local craft groups. Somebody can almost certainly use these materials. The rest of the sofa is likely to be primarily metal, which you can sell to a scrap metal merchant or take to a recycling center.

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