775,000+ Mattresses Recycled in Five Years of Connecticut's First-in-the-Nation Program

Mattress recycling in Connecticut passed a milestone in the midst of the pandemic, as the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) completed its fifth year of operations. The industry-led nonprofit’s latest annual report to state officials highlighted year-over-year improvements in the statewide Bye Bye Mattress program’s recycling rate, an increase in mattresses collected, and the comprehensive coverage of the collection network’s footprint.

Since 2015, more than three quarters of a million mattresses (just over 775,000 at latest count) have been collected in Connecticut and over 13,000 tons of materials recycled into new consumer and industrial products such as filters, insulation, carpet padding and steel rebar.

MRC’s recyclers achieved a 73% recycling rate, a 6-percentage point increase from the previous period. It is the largest year-over-year gain for the program which has steadily increased the recycling rate each year since initiative began in 2015. The old mattresses and/or box springs are dismantled and the steel, foam, fabric and wood are separated and used to make new products, under the program.

Bye Bye Mattress is accessible to residents throughout Connecticut, offering no-cost opportunities for residents to discard their used mattress. Mattresses are collected through a variety of channels, offering consumers and businesses options for recycling.

·         136 communities offer direct access to the program through transfer stations, public works yards, collection events and through municipal curbside pick-up programs

·         263 other public and private entities across Connecticut participate in the program including mattress retailers, hotels, universities, junk haulers and apartment complexes.

·         3 public drop-off locations are also available to state residents.

“MRC and the mattress industry are committed to continuous improvement by investing in important research,” said MRC’s Managing Director Mike O’Donnell. “Current projects are focused on creating new end markets for mattress materials and encouraging manufacturers to consider recycling challenges when designing new products that promote a circular economy.”

Over the past five years, MRC has recruited hundreds of municipal transfer stations, waste haulers, nonprofit organizations, mattress retailers, hotels, universities and hospitals to recycle through Bye Bye Mattress. In May 2015, Connecticut became the first state to pass legislation creating a statewide mattress recycling program in the U.S.  In the years since, states including nearby Rhode Island and California on the West Coast have followed suit. 

Among the Connecticut facilities is Park City Green in Bridgeport, where employees break down old mattresses into its recyclable parts. Officials say they recycle 96 percent of mattress materials into usable products: the covers (which can be turned into mattress pads), the cotton stuffing (turned into fabric), the foam (automobile padding), wood pieces (mulch), and springs (reforged steel).  The program diverts mattresses from waste-to-energy facilities and landfills and allows materials like fiber, foam, steel and wood to be reused. 

Officials point out that more than one million visitors have visited the Connecticut website, which offers residents an easy locator tool to find their nearest mattress recycling location or event.