Learn about a major milestone for our Sleep Products Sustainability Program, view our new public service announcement, get the latest Customer FAQs document, read about our recent research activity and more!
Pleasant Mattress First Manufacturer to Achieve Sleep Products Sustainability Program Certification
The Sleep Products Sustainability Program (SP2) is a voluntary program developed by MRC to empower California mattress manufacturers with tools, training, and resources to implement sustainable practices throughout their organization. The goal of the program is to enable manufacturers to examine all waste streams from their operations, then measure, and systematically reduce the negative environmental impacts of their operations and supply chain. Since starting the program, Pleasant Mattress has verified a 10 percent reduction in energy used and a 10 percent reduction in waste generated. The company has also identified future goals for improvement that include upgrading the factory to energy saving LED lighting while also adding rooftop solar panels dedicated to sewing and manufacturing equipment.
“SP2 is designed to reduce waste in all its forms in the manufacturing process,” said Rion Morgenstern, president and CEO of Pleasant Mattress. “We are pleased to be the first U.S.-based manufacturer to undergo the training and become certified by an independent audit. It was easy to get our whole company on board from the start. Everyday our employees hear about the urgent need for sustainability from their children who are learning about it in school. The certification reinforces Pleasant Mattress’ dedication to environmental sustainability and our community.” Read the full announcement from Pleasant Mattress.
MRC’s Newest Public Service Announcement Available for America Recycles Day
This week, in honor of Keep America Beautiful’s America Recycles Day, MRC released a new PSA titled “Break Up the Right Way With Your Old Mattress.” It was developed in consultation with various stakeholders from MRC’s Illegally Dumped Mattress Collection Initiative and those involved in environmental justice work. The message encourages consumers to visit ByeByeMattress.com.
“This fresh start-themed message will resonate well as we put the pandemic behind us. Many people are changing the way they live and work and are moving, redesigning and renovating their homes. These choices generate increasing volumes of discarded mattresses,” says MRC’s Director of Marketing Amanda Wall. “The PSA encourages consumers to think about proper disposal and how mattress components are made into new products. They will learn that MRC’s Bye Bye Mattress program makes recycling easy and that there are other responsible options like retailer take back or a bulky item program.”
Links to download or share 30-second and 15-second versions are available in the Bye Bye Mattress Media Center. Spanish and Chinese translations are coming soon.
Mattress Industry
What is the Recycling Fee Used For? A Closer Look at Education and Outreach
To help retailers better explain the purpose of the recycling fee to consumers, we have introduced this short series that discusses the activities funded by the fee and resulting benefits. In previous months we explained mattress collection and transportation, then recycling. For this next installment, we focus on education and outreach.
Effectively communicating with various audiences is imperative to the success of the program. The fee supports a robust communications strategy targeting multiple industries and consumers. The MRC brand targets the mattress industry to raise awareness of legal obligations and the value of the program. As the program administrator, MRC also provides information to state regulators and other program stakeholders. MRC created Bye Bye Mattress as a sub-brand for consumers to learn about the fee, the program’s purpose, importance of mattress recycling and available no-cost recycling options.
“One of the most important elements of our strategy is providing free tools and resources our audiences need to educate those in their sphere of influence,” says MRC’s Director of Marketing Amanda Wall. “For example, empowering the mattress industry to educate their customers and supply chain, local leaders to educate residents, collection sites to educate their community. When we all work together to promote the program, less mattresses end up in landfills or abandoned in public spaces.”
Examples of resources that MRC makes available for key audiences include:
- Point-of-sale materials for mattress retailers in multiple languages.
- Publicity toolkits for collection site operators and event hosts consisting of sample content, marketing material templates, images, signage and more.
- A public service announcement with the ability to co-brand and customize the end of the message.
- Lesson plan activities to help youth and teens understand the value of recycling, discover how the program works in their area and encourage them to tell others.
- An interactive, educational booth for use at community events and festivals.
- Digital and social media graphics.
“Making it easy for others to talk about the program compliments what we are able to do through advertising campaigns and media outreach,” said Wall.
In addition to education and outreach, the fee supports research activities and efforts to combat illegal dumping. We will look at these topics in more detail in future newsletters.
New Customer FAQs
In preparation for 2022, we’ve updated our Customer FAQs. This resource describes how to respond to the most anticipated questions your customers ask about the recycling fee and the program. English and Spanish versions are now available in the Retailer Resources area.
Collection Network
Check Your Locator Listing
Now is a good time to review your listing on our Bye Bye Mattress recycling locator to be sure all your contact information, address and hours are correct. To update or modify, contact your program coordinator.
Research
Covestro Announces Circular Design Program in Coordination With the University of Pittsburgh
The Covestro Circular Economy Program at the University of Pittsburgh is a new collaboration between Covestro and Pitt’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MSCI) and the Swanson School of Engineering. This graduate-level circular design academic program will specifically address the challenge of global waste and material use while creating opportunities for research, education and innovative advancement of circular economy principles. The program will enable graduate students at Pitt to become experts in circular economy principles, informed by Covestro’s advances in this area, and ultimately create circular, sustainable products and service solutions. The first cohort of graduate students will be recruited for fall 2022.
Upcoming Events
California State Association of Counties Annual Meeting
November 29 – December 3
Website: https://memberportal.counties.org/CSAC2021/
Visit MRC’s Special Projects Coordinator Taylor Grimes and Senior Program Coordinator Mark Patti at booth #406. They would love to tell you about Bye Bye Mattress, the Illegally Dumped Mattress Collection Initiative and how to get a copy of “Best Practices in Addressing Illegal Dumping of Durable Waste – A Guide for Policy Makers.”
National Zero Waste Virtual Conference
December 8 – 9
Website: www.zwconference.org
Organized by the National Recycling Coalition and Zero Waste USA. Don’t miss the Hard to Recycle session Dec. 9 at 2:30 p.m. The panel will be moderated by MRC’s Senior Program Coordinator Mark Patti. Among the panelists is Dr. Calvin Lakhan, York University Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change and lead author of “Best Practices in Addressing Illegal Dumping of Durable Waste – A Guide for Policy Makers”, which was commissioned by MRC earlier this year.