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Bye Bye Mattress program recycles 1 million mattresses

Bye Bye Mattress program recycles 1 million mattresses
<![CDATA[The Alexandria, Virginia-based Mattress Recycling Council’s (MRC) Bye Bye Mattress program has recycled its one millionth mattress, diverting nearly 25,000 tons of materials from landfills and saving more than 11 million cubic feet of landfill space in the three states that MRC serves—California, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Each state enacted its own mattress recycling law to reduce the number of mattresses sent to landfills, combat illegal mattress dumping and increase recycling rates.

“During the initial year of its program, Bye Bye Mattress has significantly increased mattress recycling for communities across the states served. Having surpassed one-million units shows that the mattress industry has created a practical solution that is showing real promise,” says Ryan Trainer, president of the Mattress Recycling Council. “It is a major milestone, but is also just the beginning. We are still committed to making mattress collection and recycling in these states easier and more efficient for everyone.”

Bye Bye Mattress debuted in Connecticut in May 2015, California in December 2015 and Rhode Island in May of 2016. Each state program is funded through a small recycling fee that is collected when mattresses and box springs are sold. The fee is used to operate the program in each state by providing containers for collection sites and transportation of mattresses to contracted recyclers for deconstruction.

Throughout the three participating states, 11 recycling facilities process mattresses on behalf of the program. They deconstruct the unit, separating it into general components—steel, foam, fibers and wood. The materials are then prepared for sale to scrap dealers or other end markets. MRC expects Bye Bye Mattress to recycle another million units or more in 2017.

In California and Connecticut, non-profit organizations like Goodwill in Silicon Valley, California; DR3, with two locations in Oakland and Woodland, California; and Park City Green in Bridgeport, Connecticut, use mattress recycling as the basis for a jobs training program to help veterans, ex-offenders, the homeless and others who have trouble finding work.

“As Bye Bye Mattress’ collection network expands to serve more and more municipalities and institutions such as universities and hospitals, retailers and hotels, we will continue to build our capacity, which we hope to increase significantly over the next two years,” says Adrienne Farrar Houël, president and CEO of the Greater Bridgeport Community Enterprises, which founded and operates Park City Green.]]>
Source: Recycling Today
Bye Bye Mattress program recycles 1 million mattresses
<![CDATA[The Alexandria, Virginia-based Mattress Recycling Council’s (MRC) Bye Bye Mattress program has recycled its one millionth mattress, diverting nearly 25,000 tons of materials from landfills and saving more than 11 million cubic feet of landfill space in the three states that MRC serves—California, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Each state enacted its own mattress recycling law to reduce the number of mattresses sent to landfills, combat illegal mattress dumping and increase recycling rates.“During the initial year of its program, Bye Bye Mattress has significantly increased mattress recycling for communities across the states served. Having surpassed one-million units shows that the mattress industry has created a practical solution that is showing real promise,” says Ryan Trainer, president of the Mattress Recycling Council. “It is a major milestone, but is also just the beginning. We are still committed to making mattress collection and recycling in these states easier and more efficient for everyone.”Bye Bye Mattress debuted in Connecticut in May 2015, California in December 2015 and Rhode Island in May of 2016. Each state program is funded through a small recycling fee that is collected when mattresses and box springs are sold. The fee is used to operate the program in each state by…

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