Mattress Recycling

One of the Mustard Seed’s biggest sustainability projects is its mattress recycling program. Mattresses are a large burden on the waste stream, leading cities to consider creating guidelines for mattress disposal. . Aside from the vast space they consume, they can be dangerous to trash compactors and landfills because of the air pockets they can contain that may catch fire.

A leading idea comes from Canada—the city of Vancouver banned mattresses from being picked up by garbage collectors at the beginning of 2011. About.com reports that the amount of mattresses and box springs recycled in the first eight months of the ban could be stacked to tower one and half times the height of Mount Everest. I know that sounds like an exaggerated telling of The Princess and the Pea, but it’s both true and amazing how much waste was repurposed in a single city.

Hard at work stripping a mattress

Mattress recycling doesn’t just save worthwhile materials from the dump, however; it also provides jobs, as the mattresses must be sliced open by workers to pull out the valuable steel, foam, Dacron, and cotton. We have three mattress-recycling employees working right in our location at 12 Mustard Seed Lane in Orlando. The Mustard Seed has personally recycled enough mattresses to cover two football fields, which is one small step for recycling, but one giant bed for one person! We can pick them up from your home or business, and will merely ask for a donation to go towards gas and maintenance for our trucks. If you would call us at 407-875-2040 we’ll help you recycle your mattress today!