Nonprofit resellers could be a solution for rising costs of curbside furniture collection

Cutting costs of cleaning up the annual purge of furniture left on La Crosse’s boulevards could be as simple as finding other homes for it all.

That’s the recommendation from city council member Barb Janssen.

She believes the city’s spring curbside pickup of large items can be less costly by having places like Salvation Army or the Habitat for Humanity Restore have first crack at the couches and bookcases that mostly college students toss on the curb.

“There are stores, that they build their business based on used furniture and second-hand items,” she said. “I think we just need to touch base with all those people and try and find a more productive way of handling all these large items.

“The city can work with these other organizations. If we can all collaborate, like around Earth Day, hopefully that would be less for the contractor to pick up. Certainly worth a try.

Last spring’s pickup included 2,000 mattresses and box springs, as well as the 267 tons of things like bed frames and bookcases.

The city had considered drastically cutting back the large-item pickup because of cost increases. For now, however, the four-week sweep of the city will stay in place as is.