Texas capital eyes furniture reuse with EPA grant funds

Municipal and commercial waste haulers who pick up discarded furniture in the Austin, Texas, area may soon have a new destination to consider for their bulky cargo.

The government of Austin, Texas, says it plans to open a warehouse designed to store and resell discarded furniture and building materials, using money from a recently announced United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant.

The U.S. has announced the Austin city government will receive a Solid Waste Infrastructure Grant (SWIFR) of $4 million to “construct and maintain a new reuse warehouse.”

The warehouse, says the agency, will be a central location for redistributing used furniture and building materials and for hosting programming.

“We are excited that the EPA has selected our initiative for their grant program,” says Richard McHale, director of Austin Resource Recovery, a city department. “The reuse warehouse will connect valuable items, like furniture, to Austinites who can use them. It will also keep these items out of the landfill as we continue to work toward zero waste.”

According to the EPA, the City of Austin has a surplus of goods currently going to landfills—instead of being remarketed—because of space constraints and a limited reuse infrastructure.

Austin Resource Recovery intends to use the EPA grant funding to change those circumstances by opening the new reuse warehouse.

The new warehouse will accept and redistribute used furniture at no cost to nonprofits and their clients, with a focus on furnishing the homes of those transitioning out of homelessness, say the agencies.

The warehouse will eventually expand to also accept building materials, according to the project’s backers. “The overall goal of this project will be to reduce the amount of furniture and building materials sent to landfills annually,” states the EPA.

“Today’s grant will help our partners in Austin extend the life of furniture and building materials, prevent more landfill waste, and help families in need.,” says U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance.

“Reduce, reuse, recycle: Austin is moving closer toward achieving our long-term goal of zero waste,” says U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett. “By preventing usable yet bulky furniture from overwhelming our landfills, we can help our most vulnerable neighbors get back on their feet and create a welcoming home for themselves and their families.”

Adds the representative, “The Infrastructure Law I supported is delivering for Central Texas, and I look forward to continue working to obtain additional federal resources for our community.”