When you decide to replace your bedding, you’ll need to get rid of your mattress. This is because you may find that your mattress is no longer comfortable, has lost its quality, no longer provides the restful sleep it once did, or you simply can’t maintain it anymore. Fortunately, there are many recycling options available, so you can get rid of your old bedding while contributing to a more sustainable world.
When dropped off at a recycling center, collection point, or your retailer, your old mattress and box spring will be handed over to a bedding recycling specialist. Depending on its components, a used mattress will be recycled or converted into energy. Find out what steps to take to ensure your mattress is recycled at the end of its life.
Where can you take your mattress to have it recycled?
The recycling center or collection points
As an alternative to landfilling bulky waste such as mattresses, many recycling companies have committed to recycling all used household furniture.
The vast majority of the materials used in mattresses and their box springs (wood, latex, foam, metal springs, cotton, etc.) are recyclable or can be converted into energy. Among these materials, natural latex is one of the most environmentally friendly: at the end of its life, a mattress made of natural latex is biodegradable.
If you want to get rid of your old mattress, you can take it to a recycling center to drop it off, provided that the center has designated bins for used mattresses (Eco Mobilier bins).
Eco Mobilier is an organization responsible for the collection, sorting, and recycling of household furniture manufactured in France. A list of all recycling centers in France equipped with a container designated for used furniture, along with their locations, is available on the organization’s website.
En outre, l'association Emmaà¼s a récemment créé une filière de récupération des éléments d'ameublement afin de les recycler. Si vous n'apportez pas votre vieux matelas en centre de déchetterie ou de recyclage, vous pouvez alors choisir de le donner à l'association Emmaà¼s.
Bulky item pickup service right at your doorstep
Another option for recycling your old mattress is to contact your local government’s bulky item pickup service. You can then schedule an appointment to have your furniture (sofa, box spring, mattress, other furniture, etc.) picked up from in front of your house. This service is convenient if you don’t have a vehicle to transport your bulky items to the drop-off location.
If possible, check with your local municipality to make sure your mattress will be taken to a recycling center or a waste collection site equipped with an Eco Mobilier container.
Returning the Old Mattress to the Specialist
More and more mattress retailers are offering a trade-in service for your old mattress whenyou purchase a new one, whether online or in-store. In many cases, you don’t even have to leave your home: when your new mattress is delivered, your old one is picked up right away. To learn more about this service, ask your retailer for advice.
Kipli is one of the many companies partnering with Eco Mobilier: when you purchase a natural latex mattress, your old mattress is collected and then sent to the organization, which will recycle it.
So, there are several options available to you if you want to recycle your old mattress. You can:
- Take your old mattress to the recycling center nearest your home, if it has an "Eco Mobilier" drop-off bin;
- use a bulky item pickup service so you don't have to go anywhere;
- Return your mattress to your retailer when you purchase a new product and take advantage of any special offers (discounts, gift cards, etc.).
What are the steps involved in the mattress recycling process?
Step 1: Sorting the mattresses
Depending on their condition, mattresses and box springs that can be recycled are sent to a sorting center. Mattresses and box springs that cannot be recycled will be converted into energy and used as fuel.
At the sorting center, mattresses are separated from bed frames and sorted by type (latex, foam, or springs). Once sorted and grouped by type, the mattresses are labeled and then sent to the production lines specific to their type to be dismantled.
Step 2: Dismantling the mattresses
First and foremost, the mattresses undergo a sanitization process. They are placed in a machine that applies heat, and then cooled; this process disinfects the entire mattress.
Next, any components not part of the mattress are removed by hand: handles, plastic tags, zippers, divider panels, etc.
Later, the fabric from the mattress cover is removed after being frayed. Once dismantled, the fabric is recovered and sorted by material (polyester, foam, polyurethane, cotton, blended fabrics, etc.), and then compacted. If the mattress is a spring mattress, the springs are also removed from the mattress core.
Once removed from their covers, the mattresses are prepared for cutting based on their composition (latex, foam, wool, etc.). They are cut into several pieces, then compacted and, if necessary, compressed using machines designed specifically for each material.
Step 3: Reusing Recycled Materials
Once the components of your old bedding have been recycled, they are given a new purpose: they regain their commercial value. However, given the growing volume of mattresses that recycling companies must handle, new uses must be devised for each recycled material in order to move through inventory.
Generally, recycled synthetic wool, foam, and latex are reused in the automotive industry to manufacture headrests, armrests, and door liners. These materials can also be used as thermal and acoustic insulation or as absorbers. Recycled foam sheets also make excellent fall-absorbing surfaces: they are often placed under artificial turf on playgrounds or used to make judo mats.
As for mattress springs, they can be sold to steel mills—factories that produce steel from recycled scrap metal. When it comes to recycled bed frames, particularly wooden ones, there are many ways to reuse them. For DIY enthusiasts, there are plenty of creative ways to repurpose an old bed frame.
Every year, despite these efforts to recycle bedding, a large amount of bulky waste continues to be landfilled or incinerated because it cannot be processed for recycling.
One possible solution lies in the production of biodegradable mattresses: the mattress specialist Kipli has designed a mattress made of natural latex. Since this material is biodegradable, disposing of a mattress at the end of its life will be simpler and more affordable, with a lower environmental impact.
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