While many people have heard about recycling plastic and paper, very few people know that they can recycle their mattresses too! Sounds amazing, isn’t it? Well, your next question will likely be how to do it, right?
Over 20 million mattresses these days are sent to incinerators or landfills every year. The conventional mattresses are indeed terrible addition to the landfills. They are much difficult to compact taking up large space.
There are some materials in the mattresses too that can be recycled well. According to the expert mattress recyclers, over 80 to 90% of the materials used in the mattresses can be recycled. So, now let us explore some facts about mattress recycling and the best ways to do it in the following sections.
What makes mattress recycling the best option?
Well, landfills are overflowing already and there is limited amount of the trash that they can hold. When those old landfills become full, the need arises for making new ones. However, it can result into reduced space and encroaching on the animal habitats. Most of the urban areas today don’t have sufficient empty space.
Mattress materials are mostly non-biodegradable. These days, there are any recycling programs that are run by the non-profit groups offering social benefit to many communities.
Most common recyclable elements found in the mattresses
- Polyurethane foam
Most of the mattresses contain polyurethane foam that is very simple to be reused. It can easily be shredded and sold to the carpet padding manufacturers. Most of the carpet padding manufacturers compress shredded foam and then bond them to create the carpet padding. By following just the similar procedure, thicker “rebond” foam can be created.
- Steel
Steel makes up largest component of the average mattresses by weight. There are many steel recycling facilities around the world since it is even easiest to recycle. The mattress recyclers need to compact the steel springs properly so that they can be easily transported to scrap-yard in cost effective manner. Once the steel gets removed from mattress, it can then be melted and reused.
- Synthetic fibers
Some of the synthetic fibers including polyester can be granulated and shredded into the small chips. Now these chips can easily be used and melted in the new polyester textiles. Many of the clothing items as well as mattress fabrics have recycled polyester in it.
- Natural fibers
Natural fibers like cotton can be easily used to make fiber like yarn. Now this yarn can be easily cleaned and respun before being used again in any other textile application. The shredded fibers will have to go through cleaning process before being used as filling in some new application like dog bed, sofa cushion, or any other type of mattress.
It should be remembered that mattress recycling is a lot more different than mattress renovating or refurbishing that involve reupholstering as well as reselling the bed. Once a bed is reconstructed, most of the materials in it can be repurposed.
Top ways to recycle your old mattress
- Resell it – You can find new home for your old mattress if it is still clean and in good condition.
- Donate it – There are many places apart from recycling plants that accept the used beds including homeless shelters, furniture banks, domestic abuse shelters, and many more.
- Recycle it by yourself – While some of the recycling plants might not accept the entire mattress, they may accept individual components if you can break them by yourself.
So now, after knowing everything about mattress recycling, it is the right time for you to let go of your old mattress and bring new one. You can visit amerisleep.com to explore the best options and choose the most comfortable and right memory foam mattress for you in just one click!
