How to Recycle Your Old Office Chair

Looking for sustainable ways to get your old office chair off your hands? Keep reading to learn how you can recycle your old office furniture.

Looking for sustainable ways to get your old office chair off your hands?

Throwing it out with the garbage isn’t the best way! Office chairs take up a large amount of space in landfills, creating costly environmental impacts. Instead, see if you can recycle it.

It is our goal to keep sustainability at the forefront of our mission, and encourage consumers to learn about more sustainable practices like donating and recycling.

Below are a few tips for how you can reduce your environmental impact and recycle your old office chairs.

Donate Your Old Office Chair to a Local Charity

Donating your old office furniture (in good condition) to local charities and non-profit organizations is a great way to reduce waste and also give back to the community.

Many charities are in need of furniture donations because they rely on them for their fundraising efforts and daily operations. Find out which charities accept donated items near you and whether they have specific requirements for what types of furniture they accept (i.e. couches vs. chairs vs. desks).

Oftentimes, charities will offer to pick up the furniture and equipment, so you don’t have to worry about breaking them down and transporting them.

You can also ask if any local businesses would be interested in taking some of your old office chairs off your hands if the charities don't take them directly. Lastly, also check with your local school or hospital as many will repurpose old office furniture as part of their mission of giving back to communities through education, healing and caring for others in need.

Find Out if Your Office Chair is Recyclable

If you can’t donate your old office furniture, look into recycling it. Instead of letting your chair slowly decompose in a landfill while emitting toxic greenhouse gasses, allow it to be given new life and reused. You can see if your office chair is recyclable by checking its main material composition.

If your chair is made of metal, it's likely recyclable. Metal chairs are generally made out of steel, and they can be recycled into other products.

Plastic office chairs are less likely to be recyclable, but this ultimately depends on the type of plastic they’re made of. Look for a small triangle with a number (resin identification code) on your chair to identify what type of plastic it is made of. Plastic #2 (high-density polyethylene/ HDPE) or #5 (polypropylene) are common, and can both be recycled.

Wooden office chairs are usually not recyclable because they're solid wood and cannot be broken down into smaller pieces for recycling purposes.

Find Local Recycling Services

Do an internet search for your city name plus “furniture recycling” or “eco centre” for more information. Some recycling companies will pick up your old furniture for free or for a small fee.

Many services will also donate usable pieces to charitable organizations and recycle the rest, for extra eco-friendliness. Similar to charities, some recycling companies also provide receipts for the items they receive as they consider them to be donations.

Sustainability at Branch

At Branch, we’re committed to putting sustainability at the forefront of our mission and business model.

For example, our Daily Chair is a durable, premium ergonomic chair made with 70%+ recycled materials, and 96% recyclable post-use.

As 91% of office furniture ending up in landfills after a company’s expired lease, our Flex program lets corporate clients request retrieval of their used Branch furniture free of charge, so Branch can give it another shot at life.

We hope this was helpful for navigating how to get your old office chair off your hands in a sustainable and mindful way. If you’re interested, you can read more about our commitment here as well as our measurable goals for durable office furniture made from recycled and recyclable materials.