After buying a new mattress, most of us fail to acknowledge what has happened to our old mattress. It is disposed of, but how? If the thought has ever crossed your mind, we are here to answer you. The green mattress disposal companies take the steps forward as and when your old mattress hits the junk.

Are old mattresses recycled?

Some junk removal companies are seriously dedicated to providing eco-friendly services and they recycle the mattress you do not use any longer. But many other companies directly take it to the landfill for disposal. Some of the mattresses from there are taken for recycling while some others are donated.

During the process of recycling, the companies consider the materials and scrap of which the mattress is composed of. They have other resources to use these which are not easily accessible by a common man. The useful materials of the mattress, like fibre filling, metal springs, or wood are taken out and processed to manufacture a new mattress. The remaining materials get utilised in other processes.

How does the recycling process work?

The discarded mattress is first picked up by the junk removal company and is dropped at the recycling facility. Other similar objects are also dumped in the same area. The next step involves the personnel investigating for the presence of bed bugs. To prevent the infestation of the bugs, the infected mattresses are taken somewhere else for destruction.

There might be multiple mattresses that are wet from the snow or rain and they are separately dried. After this, the fabric from the outer core is taken off and the core batting fibres are removed. They are used for new product manufacturing.

The core of the mattresses is again thoroughly checked. The thick steel wires are stripped away using specialized machinery. These are then sent to metal recycling plants where the steel is melted and cast back to new steel again. This can then be further used.

The foam that the mattresses are made up of is shipped to factories that clean them and turn them into new products. Foam padding for carpeting is one such major use.

With over 220 million mattresses and box springs landing in landfills every year, the disposal becomes a major issue. Hence, Recyc-Matelas is on a mission to recycle as many mattresses as possible in an efficient way.