5 tons of Northfield furniture saved from the dump

Unwanted furniture often ends up on the curb, making garbage days a challenge for people like Anne Peterson, chair of local environmentalist group Go Green Northfield.

That’s because, according to the EPA, 80% of thrown-out furniture ends up in landfill.

“Those days are always difficult for me, as an environmentalist, because it’s hard to see all of that material going to the landfill,” said Peterson, who decided to do something about that.

Go Green Northfield joined forces with the Village of Northfield and the Chicago Furniture Bank to offer free furniture pickup on May 7-8 in Northfield, resulting in the collection of nearly five tons of furniture from about 40 Northfield households, according to Peterson.

Chicago Furniture Bank collects unwanted furniture from all over Chicagoland and donates it to families in need. The nonprofit organization was founded in 2018 and collects beds, couches, lamps and other furniture items. 

According to a spokesperson from the organization, Chicago Furniture Bank has furnished 25,000 homes for more than 62,000 people in need and has diverted 24 million pounds of furniture from the landfill since its founding in 2018.

Peterson said that although housing agencies can sometimes place families in need into apartments, they often do not have the funding to furnish them.Northfield’s donation this spring was enough to furnish approximately 10 apartments.

Northfield is the first village to do a community-wide drive with the organization.

Chicago Furniture Bank Chief Revenue Officer and Sustainability Leader Mary Novak said that variety of furniture plays an important role in the shopping experience.

“Our model is ‘dignity and stability,’ so when the individuals or the families come to us for their furniture, they actually have a ‘shopping’ experience,” Novak said. “ … So the variety of the types of furniture that we received from the Northfield residents and the quality and condition was so incredible.”

Chicago Furniture Bank has a suggested monetary donation to help the organization pay pick-up drivers. Last year, when Northfield made its first furniture donation to the bank, a local donor provided the funds.

This year, Peterson turned to the Village for help to fund the project, and the Village obliged.

“I’m so proud to live in a community that not only understands how to help its own residents, but also understands the impact of helping our wider community and our wider world,” Peterson said. “I’m so lucky to live in a community whose leadership values that support.”

Novak said that Northfield set the precedent for future collaborations.

“Now we have proof in the pudding that it is a very viable way to make an impact in Chicagoland, and what that means … (is helping) about 4,000 plus families a year,” Novak said. “We definitely have success, and so now we could replicate that.”

Novak and Peterson are working on ways for other Go Green communities to host a similar event.

Peterson said that Northfield plans to continue their annual collaboration with Chicago Furniture Bank.

“The dual message of sustainability and social service is so powerful, and that’s why I think CFB is such a good partner because both of those things are embedded in their mission,” Peterson said. “ … Northfield is such a special community full of people who are deeply committed not only to Northfield but to the wider world … making Chicagoland a better place for all of us.”

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