If you live in the United States, how far can you drive without seeing used furniture laying out on the sidewalk? Three, four maybe five blocks?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans threw away 12.1 million tons of furniture in 2018. This phenomenon can be seen in many cities across the United States, including Los Angeles.
The Problem
On her online platforms, DIY and Lifestyle Content Creator Shayna Alnwick posts videos repurposing once discarded furniture into usable items. This hobby-turned-profession started during the COVID-19 pandemic when she began repainting everything in her house. Eventually, she started upcycling furniture and filmed the process to post on her Instagram account.
A month later, her videos gained popularity, and she noticed people enjoy watching do-it-yourself projects. She realized she could make her hobby into a business and began showing people how to reuse, recycle, save money and make their homes look “really cool” while being environmentally conscious and on a budget.
Alnwick eventually decided to commit to her furniture flipping business full time and now creates content on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Tiktok and Pinterest — naming her platform “The Flipped Piece.” Alnwick assures her followers that no matter where you are, you can always make a place feel like home, and you do not need to be crafty or handy to upcycle.
Alnwick has lived in many different locations. She said when she lived in more urban areas, she noticed more furniture sitting out on the street. She attributed this to a lack of space in people’s homes and tenants constantly moving in and out of apartments.
“If we just were more mindful of where we were putting our trash, by upcycling or donating it, rather than just putting it on the side of the street, it could be a lot prettier out here,” Alnwick said.
Archer Council for Sustainability Executive Board member Gabriella Specchierla (‘25) said having the furniture out does not make the city look respectable nor does it help the environment. She said she believes there is not an adequate system in place to dispose of furniture, so it often sits outside cluttering our environment.
“It’s important to invest in more sustainable furniture,” Specchierla said. “We live in a very consumerist society, but I think that these pieces aren’t necessarily set up to last very long. People just end up tossing them out, and it is just creating more waste, which is the opposite of what we need to be doing.”
Science teacher Josh Stern is extremely passionate about environmental issues. He said letting furniture sit out for a long time can cause the quality of the item to deteriorate. Pieces with cushions can get ripped causing stuffing and feathers to fly everywhere. These materials work their way into our ecosystem and can have an effect on wildlife such as birds that are at risk of ingesting this synthetic material.
“If you think about how, for example, a couch is produced,” Stern said. “A lot goes into mining materials for the screws, producing the polyester, assembling it all in a different country and then shipping it to a bunch of different places.”
When Alnwick lived in the United Kingdom, she visited a junkyard to discover where trash actually goes. When she arrived, she found little mountains of trash spanning for miles that included wood and old furniture.
Now, furniture is made of much lower quality that it used to be, Alnwick said. As the prices of furniture decrease, the quality also decreases. According to The Assembly, “Veneered goods were no longer cheap enough, so wood was replaced with lower-end, less durable engineered products like MDF and particle board.” Additionally, the constant change of microtrends makes consumers constantly buy and discard furniture, contributing to the large amount of furniture waste.
“Everybody wants to show the newest thing, everybody wants to tag the newest thing, everybody wants to wear the newest thing.” Alnwick said. “You know, decorate their home with the newest furniture, newest trends, [while] your stuff is probably perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with it — it just doesn’t look like the newest thing. So I’m like, ‘okay, well, how can we take your current thing and then make it look like the newest thing?’”
The Solution
Stern said he gets all of his furniture second-hand and donates anything he doesn’t use anymore. He said repurposing furniture is a great way to prevent waste, even if that means disassembling furniture in order to re-utilize individual pieces.
“It’s important to be aware of the many different uses and reuses you can have for furniture, and then directing it into the right place when it’s no longer of use to you, instead of just leaving it out there,” Stern said. “There definitely is a lot more consumption and a lot less awareness about reusing it and disposing of it properly.”
Alnwick encourages people to shop for vintage or antique pieces or to use what they already have and make it into the new item they desire in order to limit the amount of waste.
“I always say that it is so important to go and find those old pieces,” Alnwick said. “Because not only is it going to be cheaper, but it’s such better quality, and it will last you so much longer.”
Specchierla said since a lot of furniture is made of toxic materials, purchasing something more sustainable, made of reclaimed wood or bamboo, is better for your health.
“Environmentally friendly companies are more cautious of the materials they use in the furniture,” Specchierla said. “They tend to last longer. They’re better for you and the environment, and you’re not going to need to get rid of those as quickly.”
Leaving furniture on the street is a low-effort way to get rid of unwanted furniture despite the fact that there are more organized ways for others to access those used goods, Stern said.
“There’s a little bit of laziness [from the] people who leave it out on the street,” Stern said. “Better options are taking it to a thrift store, taking it to Goodwill or donating it to a consignment store.”
In her videos, Alnwick shows her viewers that they can get a “luxury look” on a budget without contributing to furniture waste. She said she tries to make her content as digestible as possible to ensure everyone can try it.
“Just to really show your average Joe, or stay at home mom, [and] people that aren’t crafty or handy that you don’t really need to be crafty or handy just to try upcycling,” Alnwick said. ” I think my videos give the people confidence to do that.”
This story was originally published on The Oracle on December 8, 2024.