Other sustainability initiatives are less well-known, even by the campus community. Those behind-the-scenes efforts are just as important in helping Catawba achieve its sustainability goals. One of those efforts is the College’s furniture recycling program, which is now celebrating its twenty-fifth year.
At Catawba, before new furniture purchases are made, Frannie Taylor, Contract Interiors Project Manager, checks to see what is on hand in the College’s warehouse which will meet the need. Items that have been used on campus, but which still have life left in them, are kept for potential reuse in other departments and spaces. Any time that furniture requests are made, such as when a college department is relocated, or an office or classroom space is reconfigured, Frannie is the go-to person. Using a spreadsheet, she keeps track of furniture needs and requests, the furniture inventory that is available for reuse, and where all of the furnishings are placed.
In the fashion world, it is known as “shopping your own closet” before going out to buy anything new. It is like an elaborate game of “musical chairs”, but unlike in the game, Frannie’s win is not to remove chairs from use, unless necessary.
The types of items that are recycled often extend well beyond furniture. Appliances, artwork, lamps, and flooring have all made treks across campus to their new homes.
Overages of carpet tile and LVP, as well as carpet and LVP in good condition taken up during renovations, are put to use. Porcelain tile has also been in the mix of materials. Eight campus spaces, ranging in size from a house filled with offices to a small bathroom, were recently fitted with repurposed flooring.
Some campus items pose more of a challenge to recycle. Frannie shares, “One of the best new programs I have connected Catawba with is the “Beds for Kids” non-profit organization in Charlotte, NC that provides beds and essential furniture to children and families in need. The goal with the residence hall furniture is to avoid a dumpster as the only option when those items are pulled from service. I now have a pathway for those beds, chests and desks that still have left life in them.”
Mattresses that are not in good condition are sent to a mattress recycling facility in Greensboro, NC. In addition to Beds for Kids, decommissioned campus furniture also goes to Rowan Helping Ministry’s homeless shelter for use in its apartments, the local Habitat ReStore, and the Next Generation Academy program for use in its building.
Students who live on campus tend to bring a lot of items with them when they arrive, as any move-in day volunteer will attest. Not all of it goes back home with them at the end of the academic year. At the end of spring semester, students are encouraged to put unwanted clothing at pick-up stations. Clothing is donated to The Salvation Army. Other unwanted items students leave behind to be donated are collected and routed to appropriate local non-profits.
Catawba seeks to purchase items that are produced sustainably when possible, and sources products that bear third-party certifications which ensure that exacting environmental, health, and ethical standards are met. Examples of these which consumers may recognize are the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (FSI) for furniture, and the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 for textiles. A sought-after certification for office and commercial furniture is LEVEL by BIFMA.
Older furnishings, which are often well-made, were manufactured in a time when sustainability was not emphasized. Reusing older items helps extend the life of these durable, quality items and reduces what goes into the waste stream.
In the last year alone, more than fifteen campus locations benefitted from redistribution of recycled items. In some cases, an entire college-owned house was outfitted; in others a campus department, building lobby, student study area, breakroom or office.
Examples of repurposing projects include the Wellness Loft in the Cannon Student Center, which received upholstery, tables, chairs, and cabinets for storage of clothing for student use, and the student Game Room, which received new-to-it wall seating. The lobby of the Human Resources department, which recently relocated to its own building, gained seating and décor. The Public Safety Office was outfitted with furniture for its meeting room and director’s office, and a reading area was created with a seating setup for the college bookstore. Catawba Hall, a sustainable “Green Living” residence hall, fittingly received upcycled lobby and student room furniture from the residence halls in Abernethy Village, before new items were installed.
Catawba’s Cloninger Guest House received a re-do which Frannie calls “photo-worthy.” The redesign included a new layout for existing furniture and artwork which refreshed the living room, dining room, sunroom, primary main floor bedroom and other bedrooms. Frannie had safely stored custom silk draperies which a trustee donated to the College in 2024, knowing that she would find a use for them. They now dress the Guest House windows. Area rugs were relocated, using old rugs as padding. A cleaned, oversized rug retired from service in the President’s House was placed in the Guest House living room, joined by a freshened cream sofa relocated from another college-owned home. “Minimal purchases were lamp shades to replace yellowed or cracked ones, along with greenery for four arrangements, and new bedding for the main bedroom which matches the silk donated draperies,” Frannie remarks. “All of this redesign for the Guest House occurred in March 2026, using only one day of movers.”
Frannie is particularly pleased at being able to further extend the life of sustainably made furniture that was researched and selected in 2001 for the newly-built Center for the Environment by its first executive director, Catawba faculty member Dr. John Wear. “The Student Government Association Conference Room is one of our best internal recycling deliveries,” Frannie says, “As part of the original construction project, I am so proud to retain Dr. Wear’s 2001 furniture in the College’s environmental sustainability commitment into 2026.”
The items reused for the SGA include tables created using a composite of sunflower seeds, and chairs made using maple plywood frames with recycled bottle seat covers. Frannie explains, “The table and chairs create a true professional ‘board room’ arrangement for the SGA, and in the spirit of today’s flex space, the same furniture provides tables that separate into workstations for event use.”
Lee Ball, Vice President of Sustainability and Executive Director of the Center for the Environment, praises Catawba’s furniture recycling program, “The adaptive re-use of furniture and interior finishes at Catawba is an important part of our story. As we seek to minimize our impacts on both people and natural places, we must consider every opportunity. Frannie works tirelessly to ensure that we meet the needs of our students, staff, and faculty while always ensuring our campus environmental and sustainability goals are consistent.”
