Spring Into Action works with the public sector to efficiently and affordably remove mattresses and box springs from the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) stream, fully deconstruct the units, and recycle the components.
Who we work with:
Landfills
Landfills no longer need to accept mattresses from the tri-state area.
This is good for your landfill because mattresses:
- Are big and bulky, and take up a lot of space
- Allow flammable air pockets
- Damage landfill equipment when springs pop up
- Cost more, both to transport to and to landfill, relative to other waste items that are denser and compress more easily.
- Take over 100 years to decompose
Partner with Spring Into Action to eliminate the problems mattresses cause in your waste stream. Our process is cost effective for your partners, easy to implement, and a good case study in environmental stewardship.
Contact us now for a free consultation.
Waste to Energy Facilities:
Mattresses are a costly headache for many waste-to-energy facilities. Not only do they bring in very little revenue, but also can paralyze operations by clogging facility equipment.
Spring Into Action can help WtE facilities focus on revenue generating activities by taking mattresses out of the equation. Let us analyze your facility's waste stream to design an efficient on-site pickup process, and where possible, a system to collect them earlier in the disposal chain to prevent them from ever making it to your tip floor.
Spring Into Action streamlines your operations, and is a great case study in environmental stewardship.
Contact us for a free consultation and price quote.
Municipalities
Tax payers love recycling programs when participation is simple. Governments love recycling programs that save money. Spring Into Action helps communities across the Tri-State area achieve both of these goals, and become greener in a cost-effective way.
Mattresses cause many environmental problems and should not go to landfills or incinerators because:
- Mattresses are big and bulky with, but have low masses
- There is an $18 per mattress opportunity cost based on compression ratios (excludes transportation and damage costs)
- They do not keep their cover well
- Allow flammable air pockets
- Springs often damage landfill equipment
- They are cost ineffective to transport and to landfill relative to other waste items that are denser and compress more easily
- Most incinerators cannot burn mattresses for energy so they must be landfilled and face the previous problems
Governments are already paying for mattresses because the added cost is aggregated into the per ton price negotiated with sub-contractors at transfer centers, landfills, or waste to energy facilities.
At Spring Into Action, we work with municipal and state governments to devise plans that efficiently remove mattresses from the waste stream and ensures they are completely deconstructed and recycled.
Recycling mattresses is a cost-effective way to increase waste diversion rates, and move towards controlling continually higher MSW fees. Doing so is easy, efficient, and affordable.
What’s not to like? Please contact us for a free consultation.
County and State Level Agencies
Removing Mattresses from MSW
Spring Into Action favors the removal of mattresses from municipal waste streams because it is costly, inefficient, environmentally unsound, and simply unnecessary to dispose of them in landfills or waste to energy plants. Mattress recycling is a viable alternative today and has a number of social benefits that make it an even more compelling service.
Governments can encourage mattress recycling by raising the tip fees on mattresses to reflect the actual costs. Spring Into Action helps governments determine what the tip fee should be, based on a number of variables in addition to a waste diversion plan.
Please contact us now to see how we can help your community.
Used Bedding Renovation
Spring Into Action strongly recommends that state and county governments outlaw the resale of used bedding (after the 30 day return policy) that is not completely sanitized or rebuilt with new materials.
It is estimated that 35% of all mattresses disposed of find their way to organizations termed "bedding renovators" or "re-builders," where they are resold, often as new product, often with little to no sanitation. This market is loosely regulated in many states and rarely enforced, which makes this market gray at best and fraudulent at worst.
Mattress renovation is very bad for tax payers because these mattresses contain large quantities of allergens and often are soiled. In addition, these mattresses contribute to the spread of bed bugs, which has become an epidemic in the Tri-State area that is well documented in the media.
A handful of states have prudently banned the unscrupulous renovation of mattresses, including Massachusetts and California. We believe that this is an important step to protect consumers from buying unsanitary mattresses and would encourage recycling.
Those who favor of bedding renovation argue that lower income people need this market because it gives them access to affordable mattresses. However, outlawing bedding renovation does not remove lower priced mattresses from the market. On the other hand, it provides a market for cheaper new mattresses that are otherwise unable to compete because bedding renovators face lower material costs. Most importantly, low income people deserve the same consumer and health protections as wealthier people.
The Military: Leading by Example
The United States Department of Defense disposes of over 200,000 mattresses each year. While this represents only about half a percent of yearly mattress sales nationwide, the military and the federal government are committed to sustainability shown in Executive Orders 13-423 and 13-514, which call for significant increases in the recycling rate for federal agencies.
By working with Spring into Action, the Military can:
- Reduce waste
- Increase the life of our natural resources
- Reduce energy consumption and emissions
- Contribute to university and city sustainability goals
- Help reintegrate motivated people into the workforce
- Reduce recidivism
