If youre ready to part ways with your sofa, use our guide on how to do it responsibly.
Moving to a Healthier Couch
There are health considerations, too.
The drop is also apparent if just the foam cushions are replaced.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
By trading, selling, or giving away a couch, you’ll keep slow-to-decompose furniture out of landfills.
You’ll also help protect natural resources, such as wood and metals, needed in manufacturing.
In addition, you’ll reduce greenhouse gas emissions required for the manufacturing and transport of new furniture.
How to Get Rid of a Couch
1.
Search locally to find the most competitive prices in your area.
In that case, you will need to remove the cushions and designate them to the trash.
Then, dismantle the frame.
Trade or Sell Your Used Sofa
As the famous quote goes, One mans trash is another mans treasure.
Many people are looking to salvage used items, and secondhand resale websites abound.
Try local Buy Nothing groups in your area.
If that doesn’t work, try selling your couch on online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.
Just be careful of scammers, and check that that the pickup terms are safe.
Donate a Couch
Before sending a gently used sofa to the landfill, try family or friends first.
If you strike out with people you know, consider donating to charities that accept furniture.
They either donate or sell the used furniture at a low cost.
Locate the one nearest to you through their website.
Goodwill accepts new and gently used items.
The Salvation Army has thrift stores that accept furniture items.
Check out their website to see if they offer free pickup in your area or drop it off yourself.
Remember, your donation is tax-deductible.
you might put it out with a For Free sign and hope a passerby picks it up.
A lot of cities now have curbside programs to help citizens dispose of items in an eco-friendly way.
Respect city ordinances on curbside disposal and honor the designated times or days when this is permitted.
This can be through buy-back programs or discounts on new purchases.
Some stores will only trade in brands they carry or on sofas that you bought from their store.
Other stores may allow you to trade in any sofa and get a discount on the new one.
Some even agree to remove your old sofa for free when you buy a new sofa from their store.
Either way, ask around about swap programs that will make disposing of your unwanted sofa hassle-free.
Alternatively, you might cut up a couch for proper disposal.
Simply gather the tools to remove brackets, zippers, and frames.
Rodgers, Kathryn M. et al.
Do flame retardant concentrations change in dust after older upholstered furniture is replaced?Environment International, vol.
153, 2021,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106513
The Fight Against Flame Retardants.
Natural Resources Defense Council.
Where to Recycle Furniture?
“How Much Does Junk Removal Cost?”
