Reference page
U.S. furniture reuse and disposal facts
Clear national figures for writers, designers, restorers, and anyone making the case for keeping good furniture in use.
Last updated August 18, 2026. The latest national product-specific figures available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are for 2018.
The figures
Furniture deserves a longer life.
12.1 million tons
of furniture and furnishings entered the U.S. municipal waste stream in 2018.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2018 data2.2 to 12.1 million tons
is the rise in furniture and furnishings entering the waste stream from 1960 to 2018.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2018 data80.1%
of furniture and furnishings was landfilled in 2018.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2018 data19.5%
of furniture and furnishings was combusted for energy recovery in 2018.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2018 dataWhat the data covers
Furniture is a material story, not just a decorating choice.
The EPA category includes sofas, tables, chairs, and mattresses. It records material after primary use and reuse by secondary owners, which means these figures describe furniture only after its useful life has already been extended at least once.
Wood was the largest material category in furniture and furnishings in the 2018 EPA data, followed by ferrous metals. The figures do not measure every act of repair, resale, donation, or reuse. They show what reached the municipal waste stream after those earlier possibilities had run their course.
That is why repair, restoration, and thoughtful resale matter. Keeping a sound piece in use preserves the material, workmanship, and history that would otherwise be lost from the home long before it appears in a waste report.
Sources and methodology
How to read and cite these facts
Every figure on this page comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s product-specific data for durable goods in municipal solid waste. The underlying furniture and furnishings series covers 1960 through 2018. The agency notes that its measurement of furniture generation begins after primary use and reuse by secondary owners.
Read the EPA furniture and furnishings data, including the full 1960 to 2018 table.
Suggested citation
Open Window Restore. “U.S. Furniture Reuse and Disposal Facts.” Updated August 18, 2026. Available on the Open Window Restore website.
A piece with a past