Here’s a pretty grim stat – according to IKEA’s 2018 People & Planet Positive Report, Aussies threw away up to 13.5-million pieces of furniture that could have been recycled, reused or repaired. Saddened but also inspired, this spurred the Swedish retailer to think outside the box and the clever crumpets came up with a plan to trial a buy-back scheme at one of its Sydney stores. In 12 months, the initiative saw 1600 pieces of IKEA furniture purchased back from customers that would have otherwise ended up in landfill. The initiative was deemed so successful it has been rolled out across all of its Australian stores.

So, how does it work exactly? Well, you jump online and get an estimate here. If you are happy to proceed based on that preliminary price, you take the item fully assembled to your nearest IKEA store where it will be assessed by a staff member. From there, a final dollar value is decided and you are issued a buy-back refund card to use in-store. What’s the catch? Well it has to be IKEA furniture for a start, but it also has to be in good enough condition to be sold in the As-Is store. There are a few exclusions such as mattresses, lighting, textiles, kitchen products, modular wardrobes, appliances and children’s products but otherwise, you’re good to go. Got some furniture you’re keen to upgrade? Get the ball rolling here.