Tables, chairs, bookcases, sofas, and items of all kinds, not a day goes by without you coming across an abandoned piece of furniture on the edge of a street in Montreal. Fortunately, there are individuals, groups, and organizations that make it their mission to save them and prevent them from ending up in landfills.
Such is the case of RebutRécup, a circular economy program that aims to reduce the burial of furniture and objects. In an electric van or on a bicycle trailer, their teams scour the city streets in search of this abandoned junk. Once collected, it is donated to organizations that help citizens in need.
Standard set this summer
The organization organizes 3 groups annually in one of the city’s neighborhoods. During the last one, which took more than three weeks in the Plateau-Mont-Royal area, they collected no less than 10 tons of furniture and objects of all kinds.
“A record high. During the whole of 2022, we identified 6.15 tons of items collected,” says Lucille Libehain, communications officer for SAESEM (Society for Action, Education, and Environmental Awareness of Montreal), the nonprofit organization behind RebutRécup.
“In addition, 100% of the objects have been upgraded (repaired or partially restored) and everything has been redistributed. We collected them from 150 homes. The organization also goes to the homes during the collection period. Citizens fill out a form for registration, giving an exact list of things to A container is also being installed in the town so that people can deposit their belongings there. At this site two days of resale are organized at the end of the event on the basis of a voluntary donation. Everything else is distributed to organizations such as Collectif Bienvenue, Le Chaînon and The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity Stores, etc.
Our goal is for this to be a year-round service and to cover the entire island of Montreal. Until then, the next group will be held in the Ville-Marie neighborhood in October 2023. The best way to stay informed is to follow their Facebook page.
Do you also want to get involved in the movement and save these often reusable materials? You can join the “Abandoned Furniture in Montreal” Facebook group.
Image courtesy of Abandoned Furniture in Montreal
Facebook group
Do you also want to get involved in the movement and save these often reusable materials? You can join the “Abandoned Furniture in Montreal” Facebook group.
Created in 2019 by Les Gaspilleurs, a group of repairmen, cabinetmakers and upholsterers who give furniture a second life by offering a revitalization service, it currently has 93,000 members. There are about a dozen posts per day, or even twenty during the transition period, according to one of the group’s moderators.
How it works ? Members share photos of pieces of furniture that have been left on the sidewalk, noting as much as possible what address they are at. Those interested can therefore immediately rush to restore it, but it is necessary to act quickly with the beautiful pieces!
Members share photos of furniture left on the sidewalk, giving as many addresses as possible where they have been.
Image courtesy of Abandoned Furniture in Montreal
What RebutRécup collects
Crockery, small appliances, furniture such as tables, chairs, chests of drawers, decoration items, computers, electronic appliances, clothes, shoes, toys, books, games, etc.
: mattresses, upholstered furniture (sofas, armchairs), large appliances (refrigerator, stove, washer, dryer)
To know more: scrap and abandoned furniture in Montreal on Facebook
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