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For over six years, the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) has operated statewide mattress recycling programs in California, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

As such, the organization has its proverbial finger on the pulse of the mattress recycling industry and the trends that affect recyclers handling mattress recycling.

According to Mike O’Donnell, managing director at the Mattress Recycling Council, in the six years that the Mattress Recycling Council has orchestrated mattress recycling programs, the organization has seen the number of units recycled increase each year while recyclers are finding ways to recycle more of the material. MRC educates the mattress industry and consumers about mattress recycling laws and works closely with local governments, waste management professionals, recyclers and others to create an accessible and efficient mattress collection and recycling network. In addition, through the organization’s Sleep Products Sustainability Program (SP2) and in response to the industry’s increased commitment to environmental stewardship, the MRC pushes its sustainability efforts by helping mattress manufacturers reduce waste while increasing operational efficiencies.

“We’ve also invested over $3.5 million in research to improve the efficiency of mattress collection, transportation and recycling,” O’Donnell said. “Our research team is also focused on new end market development.”

While mattress recycling efforts remain strong across the U.S., internationally, MRC’s research team is closely following exciting progress in advanced recycling of mattresses. For instance, in the European Union (EU), four different companies are each investing in the chemical recycling of post-consumer polyurethanes.

“These processes convert material like polyurethane foam back into new polyols,” O’Donnell said. “These polyols can then be used to create new polyurethane products including mattresses.” The MRC is also encouraged by big investments in technology and automation to increase the speed and throughput of mattress recycling facilities.

“We are seeing mattress recycling grow. In fact, MRC just recycled our 10 millionth mattress,” O’Donnell said. As a result, more than 380 million pounds of steel, foam, fiber and wood have been diverted from landfills and recycled into new products.

“Oregon’s Governor recently enacted a law creating an industry-led mattress recycling program and there are other states considering similar legislation including Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York and Maryland.”

While more and more states are evaluating the potential for mattress recycling programs in their states, California, Connecticut and Rhode Island are definitely leading the way in their well-established programs.

“These are the states where the Mattress Recycling Council’s programs operate. Together, they have recycled over 10 million mattresses since 2015. With supporting legislation, MRC is able to expand our operational footprint to new states,” O’Donnell said.

Thanks to advancements in technology, most mattress recyclers are able to extract and recycle about 75 percent by weight of mattress and box spring components, including steel springs, foam, fibers and wood. The biggest challenge for recyclers is clean separation of component material for end markets.

To accomplish this, the best mattress recyclers are employing lean manufacturing techniques, automation and shredders to create high-value commodities.

As O’Donnell further explained, one of MRC’s recent research projects looked at the percentage of material that isn’t being recycled. “We conducted a waste characterization study at California mattress recycling facilities and found the top three waste categories as a percentage of total waste are shoddy felt pad (22.0 percent), mixed non-woven fibers (19.8 percent) and quilt panels (17.3 percent). MRC’s research team accepts proposals for research projects (up to $100,000) that use these harder to recycle components in new applications and products as well as in reformulated products.

In addition to conducting and supporting research projects and educating government officials about the importance of establishing mattress recycling programs in their states, the MRC also works closely with recycling companies, regional landfills, transfer stations, public works yards and nonprofit organizations, serving as collection sites or in hosting mattress collection events. The MRC also works with waste haulers that operate curbside bulky item collection programs. To operate each state program, MRC contracts with transporters and recyclers.

Educating the consumer base about mattress recycling is paramount to the success of today’s mattress recycling programs. The MRC created a consumer-facing brand called “Bye Bye Mattress” for this purpose.

“We established ByeByeMattress.com to provide information about where to recycle, the benefits of recycling and what happens to recycled mattresses,” O’Donnell said. “To drive traffic to this site, we have a robust and comprehensive strategy that uses point-of-sale materials for mattress retailers, public service announcements, traditional and online advertising, community events, media opportunities and social media. In addition, the MRC is working with other entities such as hospitals to properly dispose of unwanted mattresses. As the MRC states, through the organization’s Commercial Volume Program (CVP), hospitals in California, Connecticut and Rhode Island now have options for hospitals to access no-cost drop-off locations for unwanted mattresses. Depending on the hospital, they may also qualify for no-cost pickup and transportation of unwanted mattresses.

The MRC also relies on local leaders and community-based organizations to raise awareness and the organization provides publicity toolkits to its collection sites and event hosts that help them promote the availability of mattress recycling to their residents.”

The MRC is making significant inroads in enticing more states to enact mattress recycling programs. As previously mentioned, Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown recently enacted SB1576, creating a statewide mattress recycling program for that state. Specifically, the Oregon Legislative Assembly found and declared that:

“It is in the best interests of the State of Oregon for producers of mattresses to take responsibility for developing, implementing and administering a statewide system for the financing, collection and environmentally sound management of discarded mattresses.”

In addition, the Oregon Legislative Assembly stated that it is the State of Oregon’s policy that a statewide system for the financing, collection and environmentally sound management of discarded mattresses be established and the state of Oregon should provide “free, convenient and accessible opportunities for collection of mattresses discarded in this state from any person, in both the urban and rural areas of the state.”

In 2023, MRC will submit a plan to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to implement the new state law.

On the opposite coast of the U.S., Massachusetts is considering a mattresses landfill ban beginning November 1, 2022. According to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, mattresses are defined in the regulations as “any resilient material or combination of materials that is enclosed by ticking, used alone or in combination with other products, and that is intended for sleeping upon, except for mattresses that are contaminated with mold, bodily fluids, insects, oil, or hazardous substances. Mattress includes any foundation or box spring.”

“Mattress” does not include any mattress pad, mattress topper, sleeping bag, pillow, car bed, carriage, basket, dressing table, stroller, playpen, infant carrier, lounge pad, crib bumper, liquid or gaseous filled ticking, including any waterbed and any air mattress that does not contain upholstery material between the ticking and the mattress core, and mattresses in futons and sofa beds.”

The increasing number of states implementing laws and regulations surrounding proper mattress disposal is promising. As such, O’Donnell said the future of mattress recycling looks bright. As he explained, companies throughout the mattress supply chain are invested in the success of the MRC’s mattress recycling programs.

“While we are encouraged by our current recycling rates, we are mindful that developing new end markets is critical to the long-term sustainability of our programs,” O’Donnell said. “The MRC is making the necessary investments today to create a viable mattress recycling industry for the future.”

How does the MRC plan on doing this? Quite simply by improving information sharing between mattress manufacturers, component suppliers and recyclers. This is a priority for the MRC and the organization is facilitating several groups to foster innovation and cooperation. Among them is the New Materials Recycling Committee which aims to identify end-of-life challenges posed by new products and materials, advise MRC on anticipated long-term changes in product mix and raise industry awareness about how design and marketing decisions can affect recycling.

“Through the committee’s work, MRC can help recyclers adapt the deconstruction process, prepare to handle new materials and improve commodity forecasting,” O’Donnell said.

Published in the May  2022 Edition

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