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Sofa disposal doesn’t need to mean sofa dumping

Once the decision has been made to purchase a new sofa the old one needs to be disposed of. Disposal does not always mean dumping and there are many environmentally friendly ways in which an old sofa can be disposed of, reused or recycled.

Options range from:
• reusing the sofa within the home, perhaps in another room with a new cover or some new accessories to change the look of the sofa;
• donating the sofa to charity, friends or family;
• selling or giving away, through networks such as freecycle;
• recycling, perhaps some of the materials such as the springs or even the foam stuffing could be reused; and lastly
• ethical disposal perhaps through the local civic amenity centre.

If the sofa is still in a clean useable condition consider selling it, perhaps place a small advertisement in a local newspaper or put a postcard in a shop window, some of the larger supermarkets have community notice boards where items or services can be advertised for sale. A second hand shop that sells reconditioned furniture may buy the sofa or sell it and then pay a commission fee. Friends or family members may take the sofa or perhaps the sofa could be “free cycled”. Free cycle is a community network where items can be advertised and recycled to others who can make use of the item.

There are numerous charity organisations which use second hand furniture in hostels or drop-in centres. Charities sometimes sell on items of used furniture in charity shops, and most donations are gratefully received. Charity organisations may require that the sofa meets current safety regulations. If a charity organisation agrees to take the sofa they will usually collect it and take it away. A local youth group or other community organisation may be pleased to receive the gift of a sofa if it is clean and in reasonable condition.

Fly tipping should be avoided, it is damaging to the community and the environment to just abandon furniture, if the sofa is to be dumped it should be done legitimately. When buying a new sofa check if the retailer offers a disposal service, usually done at the same time as the new sofa is delivered, this service is often free of charge. The last resort is the council refuse collection service or civic amenity centre, many councils will offer a specialist collection service for large items, however there may be a small charge for this.