Sacramento, CA – Today, government officials, municipal and solid waste representatives and the mattress industry gathered at the state Capitol building to commemorate the launch of the state’s new mattress recycling program. “For too long, abandoned mattresses have blighted our communities,” said Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Oakland, author of the measure that created California’s mattress-recycling program. “Californians have justifiably always taken pride in our efforts to increasingly reuse and recycle our waste. With this new recycling opportunity, California is taking another step toward zero waste and giving our people another way to improve both their neighborhood quality of life and the environment of our planet. This is what government does when we work together.”
As of December 30th, California became the second state in the nation with a statewide recycling program for used mattresses and box springs. The program, known as Bye Bye Mattress, allows California residents to drop-off used mattresses at participating collection sites and recycling facilities for free. The program diverts old mattresses from waste to recycling so California landfills will be less crowded as old mattresses are recycled into new, useful products. Residents can find their nearest participating collection site or recycling facility at www.byebyemattress.com.
The event included remarks from Sen. Hancock as well as:
– Ryan Trainer, President of the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC)
– Mark Murray, Californians Against Waste
– Richard Diamonstein, Paramount Sleep and MRC Chairman
Guests were also informed on how a mattress is deconstructed and recycled and there were samples of raw materials to touch and feel—cotton, coconut husk, urethane foam, memory foam, mattress topper, felt, metal springs and wood.
Bye Bye Mattress is administered by the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), a non-profit organization created by the mattress industry to develop and manage the recycling program mandated by law in 2013. The program is funded through an $11 recycling fee that is collected when a mattress or box spring is sold to California consumers. Consumers will notice this fee as a separate line item on their receipt. The fee is used to pay for transporting and recycling the discarded mattresses—ultimately making recycling easier for California residents.