Many lower-end pieces of furniture such as tables, office chairs, desks, and cabinets are made of treated wood or wood-based composites and often have veneers of man-made materials.
These materials cannot be used for the more common applications like mulch and so one because of the chemicals in the varnishes, paints, adhesives and other wood treatment products.
Some communities do have programs for processing treated wood and similar materials. If you find, however, that there are no programs in your area that accept treated wood, the best option for these types of furniture is to find a new home for them or find a way to reuse or repurpose them.
Almost every sofa, couch, recliner, or padded office chair has the same problem with the materials in the cushions. These are usually difficult to recycle since the materials are often toxic.
Fortunately, you often can recycle the cushions if they are made of polyurethane foam and you can find a commercial source for recycling. Unfortunately, many municipal recycling facilities do not take any type of foam materials.
On the other hand, since the remainder of the furniture piece will likely be made of wood, fabric, plastic and metal, most of these materials can be easily recycled once you have dismantled the item.
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