Who Feeds on a Couch Carcass?

If this was an animal carcass, what would we think?

First, that it’s a food source for other members of the local ecosystem. So we would expect scavengers to come and feast. We know that bacteria will help break down what remained, which would feed the soil, among other important activities.

Looking closer, we know the bone structure would reveal how it adapted to its environment, the place it called home. In short, we’d get a tiny window into a moment in time that is part of a huge continuous evolutionary cycle. It may sound gruesome, but decomposition is a critical component to maintaining life on Earth.

But, this is a couch. Do the same rules apply? Some think so.

Who can answer the same questions of a couch carcass? Should customers? Manufacturers? Scientists? Kids?

Like, are the materials safe for consumption by other processes? Was it designed with repair in mind? Why not? If the parts are no longer usable in their current form, can they at least be fed as inputs to other systems, like shredded into carpet padding, or some other downstream use? Do healthy end markets exist?

What does this structure reveal about this furniture’s highest purpose? Who is this structure serving–customers, corporate profits, the workforce, the environment, the landfill, all of the above?

What has been revealed about the industrial ecology of this couch? Do we care? Should we know?