The challenge
Bulky furniture often reaches the street as waste: sofas, wardrobes and other objects left near garbage shelters. Gdynia already had an online platform for waste management, but collected bulky items still moved through a linear route. Once collected, they were crushed, shredded and sent to landfill.
The city wanted to test a more circular option before usable furniture became waste. The challenge was practical: make reuse easy for citizens, keep transport simple and understand whether creative and cultural actors would use the items as resources.
The format
The pilot ran from 24 February to 30 April 2025 in a zone up to 5 km from Gdynia Design Centre. Residents could submit furniture through a simple online form, send photos by email and use free transport from their households to a warehouse at the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park.
Remondis Poland sponsored almost all transport, while the warehouse space was provided free of charge for a limited period. Gdynia Design Centre and the Pomorskie in the European Union Association also invited cultural institutions and creative businesses to consider the collected items as resources for reuse and upcycling.
What happened
The pilot received 32 unique submissions and collected 34 pieces of furniture. Over half of the collected items, 52 percent, received a second life. The citizen engagement target was met, and the number of submissions exceeded the pilot target of 10.
The pilot also showed a gap. Engagement from creative businesses and cultural institutions did not reach the target of five active partners. Citizens showed strong demand for a simple service, while future work can focus on building stronger reuse pathways with creative industries, charities, social enterprises and local SMEs.
What other cities can reuse
Convenience matters. The form, photo submission, free pickup and clear communication reduced friction for residents and helped build trust.
The model can be adapted by municipalities that already manage waste platforms. It adds a reuse option before disposal, links logistics with storage and gives local actors a chance to turn bulky items into resources.
Budget and model
The pilot kept costs low through free online tools, partner-supported transport and temporary warehouse space provided at no cost. Remondis Poland handled almost all transport in several trips.
Future scaling could combine municipal support, low-cost pickup, district storage, an integrated online platform and staffing through a social economy enterprise or NGO selected through an open call.
Explore the Gdynia bulky waste pilot
The pilot shows how a city can add a reuse step to bulky waste management and test citizen appetite before building a larger service.
