Every year, many used furniture items in good condition end up in bulky waste. A man from Hof aims to make a difference with his platform.
Hof – A new couch arrives, and suddenly the old one is on the street. Time and again, people also discard partially well-preserved furniture with bulky waste. According to an EU estimate, around ten million tons of furniture are thrown away every year. This situation troubles a man from Hof (Bavaria). To extend the life of well-preserved furniture, he has launched a nationwide online exchange platform.
Man from Hof develops furniture exchange platform for educational institutions and companies
To rescue furniture from bulky waste, Harald Prokscha founded the platform weitergeben.org. Schools, as well as companies from all over Germany, can register to get rid of larger quantities of well-preserved furniture. From desks, shelves to sofas, various items can be offered for exchange.
To offer furniture for exchange, the respective institution must first register on the exchange platform. Subsequently, details and photos of the furniture can be provided. Anyone in need of furniture can also register at weitergeben.org.
However, the offer is primarily targeted at non-profit organizations and educational institutions. “We exclusively broker used furniture to interested non-profit organizations,” the portal explains on its website. If no taker is found, the furniture can also be given to private individuals for a donation. This approach aims to ensure that as many items as possible find a new use.
Furniture from Austria is also available – disposal often more expensive than reuse
Currently, twenty blackboards are being offered for exchange from Hof through weitergeben.org, as they have been replaced by modern whiteboards. But not only in Germany can schools and organizations advertise their furniture on the platform; listings from Austria are also available. For example, a company from Schwechat in Lower Austria, near Vienna, is offering six used cabinets for exchange.
The exchange of furniture also has financial advantages, as demonstrated by the example of the twenty blackboards from Hof. “Financially, this is actually much cheaper than if we had disposed of the boards. Disposing of three tons would have cost about 2,000 euros. Now we are paying nearly 400 euros,” explains Burkhard Baier, head of the department for schools, youth, social affairs, and sports in the Hof city hall, to BR. Moreover, the continued use of furniture is also better for the environment. The idea of passing on used furniture is not brand new; there had already been an opportunity to give away used furniture in Freising in 2023.
