So you bought a new mattress and would like some green suggestions on mattress disposal in your area.
Your mattress should last about ten years, according to chiropractors. If you buy your mattress from a home-furnishing store or mattress outlet they will usually take your discarded mattress and box spring, but there is no guarantee that they would not just ship it all off to a landfill. For anyone wanting to be environmentally friendly, mattress recycling poses a problem. Mattresses are the single greatest factor in pushing landfills to capacity, more than 63,000 mattresses are disposed of every year.
Mattresses have chemical flame retardants, which are toxic not only to humans, but when dumped in a landfill, these chemicals can leach from the mattress and contaminate the environment through seepage into groundwater.
Unfortunately, there are only a few mattress recycling facilities in the U.S. that break mattresses into their composite parts; a mattress recycling factory can reuse 90% of the mattress. DR3 Mattress Recycling program that was founded by the Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, Oregon, receives and processes more than 500 used mattresses every day.
Mattress disposal is an issue for those who are upgrading to a new mattress and want to be environmentally friendly when disposing of their perfectly good old mattress. So what are their options? There are plenty of folks in America that will go to bed tonight on the floor, so if your mattress is not soiled or has major damage, please check in your community for charities that will help you with your mattress disposal. Freecycle Network and Craigslist, allows people to post stuff to give away to anyone willing to come pick it up. Check your local Salvation Army and Earth 911 allows you to enter the item you wish to recycle and the zip code to find a location nearest you.
At Sleep Experts they have a program with community partners, every old bed is recycled for a local charity.
In Houston you can pay to have your mattress hauled off, Mattress Recyclers of Houston take care of the problem and recycle your used mattresses to help keep the earth a cleaner place to live! They recycle an average of 99% of all mattress components for use in other items.
$30 For the first mattress [Any size mattress]
$15 For the second piece [Box spring or mattress]
$10 For each additional piece
Make sure you clean your mattress before donating it! Some states have a provision on mattress disposal and you may find that your old mattress is not accepted. I have provided you with plenty of green suggestions for mattress disposal, so please recycle your mattress. Mattress recyclingwill reduce our already overburden landfills and bring a Greener Tomorrow.
