Thanks to more than $120,000 in grant funding awarded by the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), 15 mattress collection sites across nine counties in California have completed infrastructure projects designed to increase the recyclability of mattresses and save landfill space.

The awards resulted in 10 new weather-protection projects, including covers, cement pads and cargo containers. In total, those sites anticipate increasing recyclable units by more than 12,000 annually. The other five awardees purchased equipment including mobile ramps, forklift attachments, scissor docks and staircases to assist in loading units and improve the safety and/or efficiency of collection operations.

MRC collection sites are seeing the benefits from the funded improvements already: “MRC’s microgrant has been a great success in Sanger,” said Daniel Galvez, City of Sanger management analyst. “Since the grant award was announced, the additional attention the mattress recycling program received has helped the city increase collections to 1,506 mattresses in 2019 compared to 849 in 2018.  The cement pad and carport at the City Yard provide an easily identifiable location to drop off mattresses. The drop-off location also allows our staff the ability to collect, sort and load the mattress in a safe and dry location.”

Other sites that have completed projects agree: “The MRC microgrant has allowed us to improve our process,” said Zoraya Atayde, Green Waste Recovery relationship manager. “The collection, sorting and loading has become a lot easier, providing us with the ability to be more efficient.”

The completed projects represent the first round of two grant funding cycles that MRC has awarded to collection sites to date. The second cycle of microgrants for collection sites saw nearly double the number of applicants and more than a 50 percent increase in awards, with $192,000 allocated. MRC estimates that an additional 60,000 units will diverted be recycled as a result of these improvements, which are still underway. The two rounds of funding to collection sites from MRC to date total more than $300,000.

“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.”

The grant program is part of MRC’s annual $1 million research fund designed to improve the recyclability of discarded mattresses and box springs and build new markets for recycled mattress materials. For more information about collection site funding projects, please contact Abbie Beane at abeane@mattressrecyclingcouncil.org.

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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