More Than 64 Million Americans Have or Will Discard Large Furniture When Moving

NAPERVILLE, Ill., April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 64 million(1) Americans have or plan to discard a large piece of furniture when moving, according to a survey released today by AmericanListed.com, a free, hyperlocal online classifieds site. According to the survey, conducted via telephone in April by Harris Interactive^®, more than 25 percent of U.S. adults have or plan to throw away or leave behind a piece of large furniture when moving instead of recycling or selling it. Taking into account that nearly 40 million(2) Americans move each year, if 1 in 4 leave a piece of furniture behind, that is about 10 million Americans. A disturbing statistic with Earth Day and the spring moving exodus approaching is that when the average size of a large piece of furniture is considered, this equates to more than the cubic feet of 12 Empire State Buildings added to landfills each year.  

To help increase couch recycling, AmericanListed.com has launched a campaign to stop Couch Abandonment. Please check out http://couch.americanlisted.com or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcksdAWj9TA for details.

Another key survey finding includes:

• Young People More Likely to Abandon Furniture -- Nearly 2 in 5 adults ages 18 to 34 (38 percent) have or currently plan to throw away or leave behind a large furniture piece when moving. Abandonment peak season may be right around the corner with the spring moving exodus and more than 2.5 million(3) American college students expected to graduate.

"Moving may be a hectic time, but people need to realize that the furniture they discard adds up and hurts our environment," said Thomas Westling, president of AmericanListed.com. "This Earth Day, we want to remind people that there are easy ways to recycle furniture, such as posting a couch on AmericanListed.com, so that the item can be reused. The person moving can even put a little money in their pocket towards expenses while taking an item out of a landfill and doing some environmental good."

AmericanListed.com is the only free site offering a highly localized and family-friendly approach to online classifieds. The site's smart search engine enables users to list and search classified ads in all zip codes, cities and states in the United States. Additionally, AmericanListed.com does not post adult-oriented material and constantly monitors the site to remove any inappropriate postings.

This survey was conducted by telephone within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of AmericanListed.com between April 9 and April 12, 2010 among 1,012 adults ages 18 and older. Results were weighted as needed to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. For complete methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Pauline Louie or Scott Love at [email protected].

About AmericanListed

AmericanListed (www.AmericanListed.com), founded in 2007, is a free online classified advertisements website that provides U.S. residents with a simple and safe way to sell and buy products and services within their own residential area/city. The site's local reach offers users the ability to list and search classified ads in all states, all cities and all zip codes in the United States.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us -- and our clients -- stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

(1) Based on the total population of U.S. Adults according to the U.S. Census Bureau

(2) U.S. Census Bureau

(3) U.S. Census Bureau

SOURCE AmericanListed