The global mattress waste problem
At Want It Gone we love picking up your mattresses, curbside. We know that sounds a little weird but we have a pretty good reason why. One of the most common items in curbside rubbish disposal (aka hard rubbish) is mattresses.
That may not seem like an overly interesting fact, but what’s troubling is that they almost always go straight to landfill.
The global mattress waste problem
In 2017 the UK reportedly threw away more than 7million mattresses, the vast majority of which went straight to landfill. Over in the USA that number becomes a staggering 18.2m mattresses a year and sadly there are only 56 places that can recycle them.
While we don’t have the population to be creating those kinds of numbers here in Australia, it’s still a significant problem here too with about 1.8million mattresses heading to landfills each year.
Our use of landfills as a whole is worrying and is a trend we hope to see changed worldwide, and fast! But the space that a mattress takes up is significantly more than most items and it takes far longer to break down.
Why is the mattress epidemic getting worse?
The new roll down technology you may have seen online, whereby businesses can send you a mattress in far smaller packaging and in a more space-efficient way, means people are buying mattresses easier and more frequently than ever before.
While this is great for shipping, what’s not so great is the rate people begin tossing away their old, or even pretty new, mattresses.
You’ll also frequently find that some of the more modern mattress companies have a 100-day comfort guarantee. For the consumer, this seems like a great deal, for the environment it’s definitely not.
Articles like the one posted by the Wall Street Journal where a journalist worked out she could sleep on a brand new mattress each year for 8 years without having to pay for it send people into a purchasing (and returning) cycle.
Why is returning a mattress such a big deal?
Well, it’s very hard to resell a used mattress. There’s also a lot of ethical and hygiene reasons that mean allowing companies to resell used mattresses could lead to some complicated legalities. Therefore, the majority go straight to landfill.
Why don’t more facilities recycle mattresses?
Recycling mattresses, in general, can be a tricky process. A standard recycling plant doesn’t have the facilities to do so in a timely or efficient manner, usually because of all of those comfort creating springs. But mattresses CAN be recycled given the time and care the process needs.
At Want It Gone we recycle as many mattresses as possible from our curbside collections. While it isn’t always possible, recycling is our foremost priority once we’ve taken it off your hands. The springs, boards and foam can all be reused in some way.
Timber: Recovered timber is processed into woodchips and used in the manufacturing of particleboard, as animal bedding and as mulch.
Springs: Steel springs are sent to scrap metal merchants where they are melted down and used in buildings and infrastructure, vehicles and appliances.
Foam: Foam, wadding and latex from inside the mattress is recycled into carpet underlay.
Rest easy
A good nights sleep is vital to your health and we would never begrudge you of that. But we do recommend considering the rate at which you purchase a new mattress. Every 8-10years used to be the industry and health standard. We like to stick to that.
If you HAVE got a new mattress on the way and need to dispose of your old one, please feel free to get in contact. Our online collection quotes take less than 30 seconds so you can free up some mental and physical space! We’ll do our best to ensure as much of it as possible avoids landfill and finds a more environmentally friendly use.