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“Everything must come to an end,” is an old adage that gets thrown around after tragedy strikes or after something like a relationship ends. However, the same can be said for those objects around us which fill us with joy. For example, the child’s favorite toy eventually being broken from overuse or the favorite sweater which has become threadbare and stretched.
The same sort of overuse can occur with those pieces of furnishings that we and our families love. Old furniture is often collected (on purpose or by accident) by most families as people move or grow or migrate. Sometimes these older furnishings are a blessing, but sometimes they are not. When it comes time to get rid of your old furniture, call Junk King to assist.
Junk King is North America’s greenest trash and junk removal service, while also having some of the best customer service representatives on the market. Continue reading to learn more about Junk King or navigate to the custom-created pricing calculator to see a ballpark estimate of your job.
Why Recycling Old Furniture Matters
It was only a few decades ago when a single computer could fill a room in a house; now, we have entire computers in our pockets more times than not, and some computers are small enough to wear on our wrists throughout the day. Despite these huge size changes, what happens after the electronics have stopped working is often the same: they are thrown away or delivered to a relevant recycling facility to be broken down and processed into new electronics. Those parts that cannot be reused are, more often than not, simply incinerated or moved to a specialized landfill. Then, all of those parts that have made their way to a landfill have a risk of toxins leaking into the environment and hurting the local animals and people.
It is for these same reasons that old furniture also requires special care when it is being thrown out. There are many instances of old furniture being made with previously unknown or cheap toxins. For example, the seats of an old school bus are sometimes filled with a combination of flammable and toxic material—if those seats were to make it into the local landfill, there could be repercussions.
Further, old housing materials (like asbestos) are toxic in the environment—and because old furniture sits in old houses usually, there is a possibility that the furniture may contain similar toxins. Recycling home or residential items can often come with these sorts of elements.
Additionally, one of the goals of Junk King is to recycle at least 60% of all items that are hauled by them—recycling furniture creates a large percentage of that goal. Franchise owner of Junk King Gwinnett (and North Atlanta and Cobb County), Harry Van Buren, places great emphasis on his desire to recycle as much of every haul as possible, and his desire to do so speaks towards his worries about the future of humanity.
He has said, “if we [as a population] don’t start thinking more about recycling, donating, repurposing, [we’re] to the point where, if we don’t reuse the resources they’re going to be gone.” So, for Van Buren, and for Junk King, the recycling of old furniture and items is a high priority—and it should be for you too. Give Junk King a call to get started with the best ways to recycle furniture today.
Why is Recycling Old Furniture Necessary?
Apart from the toxins argument above, and the appeal to a continued (and possibly better) future for humanity, you may still wonder why old furniture, in particular, is important for furniture recycling. Apart from having period-specific styles and materials, old furniture also was created with period-specific techniques.
Thus, older furniture remains some of the best examples of craftsmanship and quality that can be seen in the modern-day. Seeing this high-quality work is one of the reasons that recycling is important—it allows collectors to, well, collect pieces that could be culturally or historically relevant. Furniture is one of the most consistent aspects of people’s lives across cultures, so continuing to reuse and preserve pieces can be considered greatly important for the continued identity of a people and even aid in the development of people’s identity.
For example, many families and cultures pride themselves on the craftsmanship of their creations—baskets, bed frames, chairs, armoires, and more can contribute to a person’s or their family’s identities.
Recycling, in particular, is important for old furniture because it allows more trade in the local economy, it reinvigorates the local workforce, and it also assists in limiting the number of resources that would have otherwise been used to create a cheaper, lesser product.
Recycling old furniture is a necessity for all those who own furniture because it assists in bettering the number of resources we use, it protects the local environment and economy, and it also can potentially aid in the development or refinement of a person’s identity.
What are the Most Common Materials that Can be Recycled through Salvaging and Re-Purposing?
There is a great number of items and materials that can be recycled through salvaging and re-purposing. Some of these materials include woods, metals, cardboards, pallets, or clear plastics.
Of course, some materials are more easily repurposed than others; for example, wood can be easily broken down and rebuilt into new forms, whereas metal requires additional tools and can become potentially difficult to salvage after two or three uses.
Despite this, some of the most easily recycled items are those which are only partially deteriorated, as is the case with most old furniture.
Additionally, things like glass jars, plastic bottles, paper products, fabrics, textiles, or even some organic matter can be re-purposed into exciting items.
Do-it-yourself re-purposers often post videos and pictures to the internet of their latest project, and more times than not, those newly created items are made with a fresh coat of paint and some old furniture. Junk King Gwinnett is one of Atlanta’s best resources for sourcing salvageable items, especially when season cleaning hits.
How to Get Started with Salvaging and Re-Purposing Junk from Home or Office?
The first step to getting started salvaging and re-purposing junk from your home or office is to do a ‘walk through’. During the walk-through, it would be highly beneficial to make a list of items that you want to change or get rid of during the process. (This will also make things easier when our big red truck and crew pull up to do the removal for you!)
After making this list, separate the items on it into ‘donate’, ‘sell’, ‘re-purpose’, and ‘remove’—this will greatly assist you in keeping organized during the entire process.
Further, when thinking about getting rid of items, it would be beneficial for you to consider how you want to get rid of the items. Does this mean recycling them, refurbishing them, or selling them?
Many items around the home and office can be salvaged from closets or the backyard and turned into something spectacular if only there is the vision and tools to accomplish such a task. Be sure to also consider whether or not the items could become salvage furniture is given to the right people—tradesmen and craftsmen both are always on the lookout for a new project.
It is worth noting as well, that not all items should be salvaged and revamped into something new. The rise of internet DIYers has also given rise to the idea that everything is recyclable, like wooden pallets. However, this is not the case.
Items like pallets are used multiple times in shipments and because you don’t know what sort of environment the pallet has been in, there could be hidden dangers to upcycling pallets. Some of these possible dangers could be anything from bugs in the wood to toxic fumes from a spill that happened months ago.
This is why it is important to only salvage and upcycle things that you are confident are clean (all be it old). For everything else, call Junk King—your local solution for everything hauling and removal.
Contact Junk King today for assistance tomorrow! With Junk King removal services, getting rid of junk and trash is as easy as 1, 2, 3—just point and the junk is gone!
- Call us at (888) 888 – JUNK (5865) to speak with a trained professional about your estimate or to schedule a no-obligation in-person assessment. In-person assessments are your most concrete quote available.
- Text us pictures of your junk at (737) 888 – JUNK to receive a text detailing your estimate. You’ll always receive a text back from one of our highly trained customer service representatives.
- Or, stay online and utilize our pricing estimator. This special tool was created with you in mind; from it, you can explore your options and the available services that Junk King can provide. At the end of the wizard, you can even schedule a dumpster or truck drop-off.
