It may be that you are going to make a move or that you choose to give a renewed air to your living room. At that moment, you decide change some old furniture in your house, but you can’t get rid of them in any way or throw them directly on the street. If you no longer want that old wardrobe or that table deteriorated by time, you can make use of the public services offered by many of the municipalities of our country.
Otherwise, if you leave them together with ordinary garbage, you run the risk of being fined for it. Until 900 euros penalty in towns like Getxo (@GetxoUdala), who consider it a serious offense within their municipal regulations.
How do these types of municipal services work?
The first thing you should do is find out in your own council how this type of furniture collection system works. And it is that in most cases,This procedure is carried out at a point established for it or leaving them on the street but at the time and day that they mark you.Normally, this service is active from Monday to Sunday on public roads and is carried out at night to cause less inconvenience to the rest of the neighbors. Plus, at no cost to the citizen.
For example, as explained by the Vitoria City Council (@vitoriagasteiz), the first thing is make an appointment in this department, via telematics or by telephone, so that municipal operators can take away any bulky items: from furniture, through mattresses, doors, sofas and even chairs or bed bases.
As a general rule, you should deposit as close to the containers as possible usual wasteand at the time indicated for this purpose. If, in addition, you suspect that this object is infected with parasites, you must communicate it when making this request. On this occasion, as they will explain to you, you must take it down from the house properly wrapped so as not to affect the environment.
But if what you need is to get rid of your old washing machine or any other large electronic device, when you buy a new one, the stores themselves those who offer to pick up the old model that you no longer need in your kitchen.
Another idea in favor of sustainability and respect for the environment is that you move that piece of furniture on your own to deposit it in the different clean points installed in your city. There they will take care of the proper recycling of all the pieces.
Some more ideas
On the contrary, if this special collection service does not exist in your municipality, you can always opt for one of these three solutions:
Donate the furniture. Look near your home for an association that needs furniture for its facilities or a disadvantaged family. But remember, this does not mean that you should leave furniture that is in poor condition. Entities like Emmaus (@EmausFSGroup) and DonaMuebles (@DonaFurniture) also turn to their sale in solidarity rakes to get very useful money for people who need it.
Sell it in thrift stores. Something that you can also do through the Internet to get extra money. Of course, as in the previous case, no one will buy you a closet that falls apart.
What if you keep that family heirloom furniture? Now it may not be very consistent with the new decoration of your room, but you can always save it for its symbolic and sentimental value. For this, there are storage rental companies.
You can always give that piece of furniture a new look
If these recommendations convince you and you want to preserve these items, decide to give them a new life through their restoration. Paint, varnish, modify some of its elements or give it a new use are some of the keys. And it is that what now takes is to bet on him manual recycling, not only as a means to avoid generating more waste, but as a new and most relaxing hobby.
For example, you can use that old family dresser as a makeshift island to cook and store food, you can transform the drawers into wall shelves, create a design table with what was once the office door or make a bar cabinet with a desk that you no longer use.
But before getting down to work, it is good that you sign up for a course or workshop in your city. In addition, it is essential to take into account these basic tips:
Do a general review of the state of that furniture to remove not only the remains of dirt or stains, but all those elements that can be dangerous, such as wires or protruding tips.The same as if you find unsuspected «tenants», such as termites.
Do a good cleaning and let it air dry before applying a new coat of paint or varnishing it again.
And if necessary, change some broken pieces and that are deteriorated by the passage of time or the possible humidity of your storage room.
