Still usable furniture does not need to end up in a landfill. (source: Jana Liptáková)
In Slovakia, a large amount of unwanted furniture ends in landfills or being sent to incineration plants even though it could be still reused. The most common reason for people get rid of furniture is to replace it with new pieces.
Slovaks annually throw away 239,735 tonnes of wooden and bulky waste. Of this amount wood-based furniture waste can constitute as much as 134,325 tonnes. On a per capita basis, this would amount to almost 25 kg of waste furniture, a waste study prepared in cooperation with Cyrkl, an international technology and consulting company specialising in circular waste management, and the furniture producer and retailer Ikea, found out.
“Particularly alarming is the fact that between 7,700 and 45,800 tonnes of this is furniture that is still usable,” the waste study reads. “All too often, the life of this furniture ends unnecessarily in landfill or salvage yards.”
Approximately 254,062 tonnes of new furniture are sold annually in Slovakia. This represents 46.7 kg of furniture per person per year.
The survey was conducted on a sample of 807 respondents aged 18-56 living in Slovakia. Of these, 401 were men (49.7 percent) and 406 women (50.3 percent). It took place between October 14 and 21, 2022.
Replacing old furniture with new
The study reveals that the most common reason why respondents dispose of old items is because they have bought new furniture (39.65 percent). Renovation of their dwelling or premises was mentioned as a reason by 23.66 percent of respondents, and moving was mentioned by fewer than 11.4 percent.
Respondents aged 18-29 are the least likely to dispose of damaged furniture (19.9 percent) compared to the average for other age groups, according to the survey. This seems to be related to their lifestyles and/or their lower buying power.
The survey shows that in general, Slovaks are most likely to get rid of beds (25 percent), sofas (24.5 percent), chairs (22.2 percent), large wardrobes (19.5 percent), small wardrobes (17.7 percent) and armchairs (12.9 percent). Conversely, they are least likely to dispose of garden furniture (4.96 percent), cots (6.69 percent) and hangers (7.56%).
Differences in behaviour are observed between genders and age groups. Compared to men, women are significantly more likely to get rid of beds and, conversely, men to get rid of chairs. Younger people aged between 18 and 39 get rid of cots most often, people over 50 get rid of sofas, armchairs, dining tables and kitchen units in particular.
Selling and donating, as well as returning to the manufacturer
Most often, Slovaks get rid of furniture by donating it (32.2 percent). Next most common is to drop it off at a recycling centre or collection yard (21.4 percent), sell it online (15.7 percent), or to move the unwanted furniture to a garage or cellar (13.8 percent). Conversely, furniture is least likely to be returned to the manufacturer or seller (just 1.11 percent).
“Almost 8 percent of Slovaks admitted to disposing of furniture in an inappropriate way like throwing it away in a municipal waste collection bin or placing it next to municipal waste containers,” reads the study.
Where to bring old, but still usable, furniture
There are several ways in which people can dispose of old, but still usable, furniture. Apart from selling or donating it, they can bring it to re-use centres. In Bratislava, Kolo, near the Ikea store, is one such example. The municipal waste-management organisation Odvoz a Likvidácia Odpadu (OLO) opened it last October, but this May it was damaged in a fire. OLO now collects usable items in a container that has been placed in front of the fire-damaged Kolo premises. It plans to re-open Kolo in the autumn.
Within Ikea's Second Life of Furniture scheme, people can sell used, but still usable, Ikea-made furniture. Ikea also provides free replacement parts for its furniture.
