Dive Brief:
- The Product Stewardship Institute released two how-to guides, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for recycling scrap carpet and used mattresses. The guides provide tools for state and local governments to increase awareness of recycling; implement collection systems; collaborate with consumers, suppliers, dealers, recyclers and manufacturers to facilitate and advance recycling; and increase market development opportunities.
- While as much as 90% of mattress components (steel, cotton and foam) are recyclable, fewer than 5% of mattresses are recycled annually in the U.S. The 20 million discarded mattresses annually pose problems for landfills.
- Americans also discard 3.9 million tons of carpets and rugs each year, recycling only 7.5%.
Dive Insight:
Mattresses take up an excessive amount of space in landfills, and their metal coils damage shredding equipment. So recycling them is a simple, eco-friendly solution.
Efforts by states and municipalities to increase mattress recycling means potential markets for the industry.
Newburyport, MA began one of the state's first mattress recycling programs last year and recycles 35 mattresses a month. City officials expect to save an estimated $4,000 this year, the Boston Globe reported. The city charges residents $10 to collect mattresses for recycling or $15 for trashing them, and now the city recycles nearly twice as many mattresses as it sends to landfills. Also in Massachusetts, the Department of Environmental Protection announced $500,000 in grants to help cities and towns start mattress recycling programs, in an effort to enhance a new recycling market and to save municipalities money.
In May, Connecticut became the first state to require companies to collect a fee on every sale of a mattress or box spring to subsidize a statewide recycling program. Next year, California and Rhode Island will start similar programs, and other states are considering comparable laws.
