When you buy a new mattress how likely is it that you have thought about recycling your old one? In the past did you just take your old one to the rubbish dump? What about mattress recycling, have you thought about that?
When it comes to recycling your old mattress, we don’t really think about how they contain recyclable material. The foam, cotton and metal springs that make up most of the mattresses are all recyclable.
The process for recycling your old mattress depends on what the material is constructed with but most recycling facilities follow a similar process:
- Separating types of mattress by material type
- The by-products and materials extracted from the mattresses, such as polyester, foam, cotton and steel are then bundled and passed on to other recycling outlets or manufacturers to re-start their future as another product
- The steel from sprung bedding might be melted down for use into a great many other products.
- Depending on the type of material, mattresses are then either mechanically shredded or manually stripped using specialist tools.
If you have a mattress that can still be used, some organisations such as charities will come pick up your old mattress for reuse. This is a benefit for you as well as the charity as you will get rid of your old mattress for free and they will sell it off to someone who needs it.
There is also the option where the city councils offers bulky item collection services, partly to help with recycling but for many in response to fly-tipping, bringing mattresses, old fridges and other unmentionables cluttering up the streets. There is a charge for the council to come pick up your old mattress but that depends on what council it is and where you live.
However, there are a number of companies who run collections services that have direct links with recycling depots. The companies who provide these services will collect your old mattresses at a lower cost than the council. They also can arrange a more prompt collection which is beneficial since it reduces clutter the front of your house and clears up space in your back garden.
London City Waste Clearance can help with your mattress recycling and waste collection in Walthamstow as well as the rest of London! Call us or use the form on the right for a free no obligations quote.