Mattress Recycling Council Awards Nearly $200,000 in Grants to California Mattress Collection Sites

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), which operates the Bye Bye Mattress program in California, recently awarded $192,000 in grant funding to 24 mattress collection sites throughout the state. The funds will be used for infrastructure improvements or equipment purchases to increase the recyclability of discarded mattresses and box springs by providing weather protection, or to achieve other efficiencies such as lowering costs and improving safety.

“Providing these grants is just one of the ways we continue to work with the more than 200 mattress collection sites throughout California to increase productivity and divert as much material as possible from state landfills,” said Mike O’Donnell, managing director of MRC. “The program serves as a global model for successful mattress recycling and we want to continue that leadership.”

This is the second round of MRC grants to mattress collection sites, with both the number of applicants and awards doubling since Cycle 1. Approved Cycle 2 grant projects include the construction of weather coverings and cement pads to protect mattress integrity, mobile loading ramps to help with transportation and storage and forklift attachments to help with storage and loading.

Cycle 2 grant awardees include:

  • Billy Wright Landfill (Merced County)
  • Bowerman Landfill (Orange County)
  • City of Berkeley (Alameda County)
  • City of Exeter (Tulare County)
  • City of Oakland (Alameda County)
  • Conservation Corps of the North Bay (Marin County)
  • Foothill Sanitary Landfill (San Joaquin County)
  • Fresno Comfort Sleep (Fresno County)
  • Goodwill of Silicon Valley (Santa Clara County)
  • Habitat East Bay/Silicon Valley (Alameda County)
  • Highway 59 Landfill (Merced County)
  • Holdoff’s Recycling (Modoc County)
  • Kings Waste Recycling Authority (Kings County)
  • Lovelace Transfer Station (San Joaquin County)
  • Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority (Mendocino County)
  • Neal Road Transfer Station (Butte County)
  • Nortech/Western Placer Waste Management Authority (Placer County)
  • North County Recycling and Landfill (San Joaquin County)
  • Olinda Landfill (Orange County)
  • Peñas Disposal (Tulare County)
  • Prima Deshecha Landfill (Orange County)
  • Urban Corps of San Diego County (San Diego County)
  • West Coast Resource Recovery (Contra Costa County)
  • The Wilkerson Company (Solano County)

The grant program is part of MRC’s annual $1 million research fund to improve the recyclability of discarded mattresses and build new markets for recycled mattress materials. This initiative also includes evaluating and implementing efficiencies in the mattress recycling process.

Mattress Recycling Council Announces 2020 Board of Directors

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) announces its 2020 Board of Directors:

  • Doug Guffey (Board Chair), Strategic Accounts Manager, Serta Simmons Bedding LLC
  • Richard Diamonstein, Managing Director, Paramount Sleep
  • Mason Hallet, Vice President of Sales, North America, Tricots-Liesse Knitting
  • Sabrina Hernandez, Specialty Account Representative, William T. Burnett & Co.
  • Mark S. Jones, President and CEO, HSM
  • Al Klancnik (Ex-Officio Board Member)
  • Jon Larson, President of Sound Sleep Products
  • William Moore, Director of Sales Operations, Jones Fiber Products, Inc.
  • Don Pflug, Executive Vice President of Operations, Southerland, Inc.
  • Ron Richmond, Vice President of Taxation, Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC
  • Shana Rocheleau, Vice President of Strategy, BedGear
  • David Spencer, Director of Warehouse Operations, Mattress Firm
  • Patrique Vielle, Senior Indirect Sourcing Program Manager, Tempur Sealy International, Inc.
  • Catherine Lyons, Chief Financial Officer, International Sleep Products Association (ISPA)
  • Ryan Trainer, President of the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA)

 

“We are grateful to these industry veterans for generously sharing their time and expertise as members of MRC’s Board of Directors,” said Ryan Trainer, president of MRC and ISPA. “With the benefit of their combined expertise and input, MRC has established itself as a leader in mattress recycling.”

MRC’S Bye Bye Mattress Program Surpasses 5 Million Mattresses Recycled In California

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Five million mattresses have been recycled by the Bye Bye Mattress program in the state of California since the program began in 2016, the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) announced today. If these mattresses were laid end-to-end they would span nearly 6,000 miles – enough to build a bridge from California to Hawaii and back. By recycling these units, Bye Bye Mattress helped California save more than 6 million cubic yards of landfill space.

“California is a global leader in mattress recycling, as evidenced by this significant milestone achievement,” said Mike O’Donnell, managing director of MRC, which operates the Bye Bye Mattress program. “We continue to build on this leadership by growing no-cost mattress recycling options statewide and helping ensure a greener California.”

More than 80 percent of a mattress can be recycled and turned into new consumer and industrial products. The five million mattresses recycled to date in California through MRC’s Bye Bye Mattress program equate to more than 168 million pounds of material kept out of state landfills and recycled into new products or diverted for other uses including:

• 84,318,480 pounds of steel

• 26,344,803 pounds of foam

• 26,853,401 pounds of cotton, quilt and other fibers

• 21,978,631 pounds of wood

• 8,883,028 pounds of other materials (cardboard, plastics, etc.)

When a mattress is recycled, it is cut open, the layers separated and interior materials organized by type for reuse. For example: the foam is recycled into carpet padding, the springs are used to make new appliances or other steel products, the fabric can be made into industrial filters and the wood from box springs is chipped for use as mulch or biomass fuel.

Bye Bye Mattress operates through a statewide network of permanent collection sites, public collection events and collaborations with solid waste providers, nonprofit organizations and small and minority-owned businesses. Collected mattresses are then transported from these sites to regional recyclers that dismantle and recycle mattress components.

Mattresses are also delivered to recyclers through Retailer Take-Back and Commercial Volume Pickup programs. Mattress recycling through Bye Bye Mattress is offered in all 58 California counties and 93 percent of residents have access to the program within 15 miles or less, according to MRC.

Bye Bye Mattress is funded through a recycling fee collected when a mattress or box spring is sold. MRC uses the fee to establish free drop-off locations and collection events throughout the state, combat illegal dumping and to further research that improves mattress recycling and develops new uses for the materials.

To find a collection location or event near you or to learn more about mattress recycling, visit www.ByeByeMattress.com.

About Mattress Recycling Council and Bye Bye Mattress

The Mattress Recycling Council was formed by the mattress industry to operate recycling programs (known as Bye Bye Mattress) in states that have enacted mattress recycling laws – California, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Since its inception in 2016, the program has recycled more than 5 million mattresses in California collected from a network consisting of local governments, solid waste facilities, nonprofit organizations and small and minority-owned businesses throughout the state. For more information, go to www.ByeByeMattress.com