Even expensive furniture ends up in landfills in America, where office vacancies are conspicuous.

• In New York, the United States, after the pandemic, finding office tenants has been difficult, and some places are throwing away office furniture.
• As a result, Herman Miller chairs, which were so popular during the pandemic, are ending up in landfills.
• According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), about 10 million tons of furniture are dumped into the nation’s landfills each year in the United States.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Herman Miller office chairs were seen by some workers as “the height of office luxury” or “perks of comfortable working from home.” was done.

Some of its iconic Aeron Chairs — famous enough to be on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and selling for over $1,400 in the US — are now heading to landfills. there is

More than three years after the pandemic sent employees home, office spaces in New York City are only half full, The New York Times reports. To dispose of the deserted office, tenants had to decide what to do with the remaining office furniture.

According to The New York Times, even the most expensive and glamorous furniture is on trucks bound for landfills, although some are lucky enough to be auctioned off or end up in the hands of liquidators. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data, about 10 million tons of furniture is dumped into the country’s landfills each year in the United States.

A representative for Dumbo Moving and Storage, which has three storage warehouses in New Jersey, told The New York Times that 2021 and 2022 were inundated with companies warehoused office furniture. there is

But the lifecycle of office furniture doesn’t end in the warehouse.

In some cases, companies have fallen behind in payments and put up for auction furniture that had been kept by warehouse companies. Dumbo Moving and Storage, which used to hold such auctions once or twice a year before the pandemic, says it now does five times a year.

“I’ve never seen so many Herman Miller chairs,” company founder Lior Rachmany told The New York Times.

Herman Miller’s Aeron chair is “up to 91% recyclable at our recycling facility,” he said.

MillerKnoll, Inc., which owns Herman Miller, told Insider in May that it expanded the brand’s furniture reuse program.

“As the most recognized leader in the office furniture industry, we want to do our part to keep products out of landfills and eliminate waste at all stages of the product life cycle. We take great responsibility in helping them achieve their goals, and we hope that our customers will take advantage of the programs and services we offer.”