Have you ever tried to move a mattress? They have to be one of the most difficult things to move. It doesn’t help that they always seem to put the handholds for mattresses on the wrong sides. What about recycling mattresses?
Can you recycle your old mattress? Sure you can! We even provide links to find mattress recycling near you.
We just replaced our mattress. It was over 10 years old and was definitely showing signs of needing to be replaced. I got my new mattress from a company that gives you a 100-day trial. If you are unhappy with the mattress, they will take it away and refund your money. I thought this was the best option given I was not sure about what I needed in a new mattress. The best part, if you return the mattress, they give it away to charity.
The only missing piece of this great plan was what to do with the old mattress. Even if they did offer to take it away for me, I needed to keep it until the 100 days were up just in case.
Is a Mattress Recyclable?
Mattresses can be recycled.
While doing my research on how to get my old mattress recycled, I found some unfortunate statistics. Although mattresses can be recycled I discovered that across the world mattresses are still ending up in landfill. Here are just a few examples.
- Only 16% of mattresses are recycled in the UK
- More than 50,000 mattresses are discarded each day in the USA
- 1.25 million mattresses are sent to landfill in Australia every year
Mattresses are made from valuable materials and between 75% and 95% of these materials can be recycled.
The benefits of recycling your old mattresses are that you conserve resources and enable the reuse of resources that have already been extracted from the environment. It also reduces landfill.
Each mattress can take up to 0.75 cubic metres in landfill. What does that equate to? Based on the stats above that is almost a million cubic metres just for one year in Australia.
Recycling mattresses can also create jobs and helps support the circular economy. The recycled materials can be used to make many other products, refer below.
What Are Mattresses Made From?
Mattresses generally fall into two main types, those with a spring called an innerspring and those made from memory foam.
Mattresses with an innerspring have a core that is made of steel coil springs or coils. The coils are covered in various layers that provide a foundation and cushioning to the mattress. There is usually a fabric cover that helps hold it all together. The number of layers and types of materials can vary quite a bit depending on the mattress manufacturer and their design. If you chose a soft mattress for example it may have quite a few layers on top of the springs.
On average an innerspring mattress is made from:
- 12.5kg of steel
- 2kg of wood
- 1.5kg of foam
Foam mattresses are made from polyurethane foams, latex rubber foams or viscoelastic foams, this last one is better known as memory foam.
How Do You Recycle a Mattress?
Yes, you can definitely recycle your old mattress. You can recycle both innerspring mattresses and foam mattresses.
As with everything the first and most important question to ask is “Can it be reused?”. Generally speaking, most mattresses that are at the end of their life will not be able to be reused. However, if the mattress is not quite 10 years old and is in good condition, not lumpy and bumpy like my old mattress, then it may be able to be reused. Ask around and see if a family member or friend needs it or you could try listing it for free on a website like freecycle. It is not often that a second-hand store or charity shop will take an old mattress but you can give it a go.
If you have exhausted the options for reuse or your mattress really isn’t in any condition for giving to someone else then it’s time to recycle it. You have a couple of options depending on where you live and what access you have. Mattresses are very awkward items to move and most of us don’t have the equipment to do so. Luckily there are many groups free and paid that will do it for you.
Many retailers will take your old mattress away for you if you purchase a new mattress from them. This is great news, just be sure to check that they actually recycle it and don’t just dump it in landfill. That would make all your efforts a waste of time.
In my case, the new mattress retailer did not provide this option. I opted for a company that has a 100 day trial so I wanted to keep your my old mattress just in case I changed my mind. As a result, I now have to get rid of my mattress.
To get rid of your old mattress there are a few options. Depending on where you live you may have one or all of these available.
- Councils or local authorities
- Free services provided by external parties
- Paid pick up services
- Drop off locations
Mattress Recycling Near You
Below are a few links that will help you find mattress recycling near you.
| Country | Recycling Link |
| United States | Check if your local council has a pickup service. Or try one of these Bye Bye Mattress facility locator Sleeponlatex 100 places to recycle your old mattress 1800gotjunk, Springback, Mattress Recycling Council Some retail companies that will take your old mattress away include Ikea and Casper. |
| United Kingdom | Many councils will offer a disposal service, sometimes free but mostly a fee is collected. Mattress Recycling Collect your old bed Plus Any Junk list retailers that will take you mattress away for you including Ikea, Dreams, Mattress Man, Nectar, Emma. |
| Australia | Check with your local council or hard rubbish pickup. Or try one of these Soft landing Bed Collect Wmwaste 1800gotjunk |
| New Zealand | Check with your local council or hard rubbish pickup. Rebound |
If you know of a facility in your country we would love to add it, feel free to let us know.
What Happens When a Mattress is Recycled?
First mattresses are separated into those that can be reused and those that cannot. For the ones that can be reused they are generally cleaned and donated to charity.
For mattresses that cannot be reused the recycling process starts with stripping them into all the different types of materials. The four main types of materials found in a mattress include foam, timber, steel, and fabrics and wadding. According to Soft Landing when a mattress is recycled up to 75% of the components can be recycled.
The four main components and what they can be used for:
- FOAM – the polyurethane foam may be recycled into carpet underlay or used for animal bed padding.
- STEEL SPRINGS – the Steel Springs in beds can be recycled as scrap metal or may be used to make products such as Roof Sheeting, vehicle parts, appliances or building materials.
- TIMBER – Timber is recycled into kindling, mulch and animal bedding or may be used in manufacturing particleboard.
- FABRIC – Fabric can be used in various industries such as industrial oil filters, R&D, or end use products such as acoustic panelling.
Wrap Up
So, if you are about ready for a new mattress then be sure to recycle your old one.
Here’s our tips on how to recycle mattresses:
- If the mattress is in good condition then give it away.
- When buying a new mattress check to see if the store will take your old mattress away for recycling.
- Check with your local authority or check our resources provided above to find a local service that will take the mattress away for recycling.
Oh and don’t forget to recycle any plastic wrapping and cardboard from your new bed.
Keep mattresses out of landfill and help support the circular economy.
Resources
- https://www.explainthatstuff.com/rubber.html
- https://sleeponlatex.com/blogs/news/14319429-100-places-to-recycle-your-old-mattress
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/12/mattress-landfill-crisis-recycling-nightmare
- https://recyclingnearyou.com.au/mattresses/
- http://www.rebound.org.nz/
- https://byebyemattress.com/why-recycle/
- http://www.reducereuserecycle.co.uk/where_can_I_recycle/mattress.
- https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/You-and-your-home/Waste-and-recycling/Furniture-and-household-items/Mattresses
