Dispose Of Your Old Mattress The Right Way

Just like everything in life, there comes a time when your mattress requires an upgrade.

Perhaps you’ve bought a new mattress for your bedroom, and now you’re wondering what to do with the old one you no longer need. It’s crucial that you recycle your old mattress, and the great news is there’s plenty of excellent ways to do so.

Why Recycle Your Mattress

It’s essential you don’t give your old mattress to a rubbish dump or abandon it somewhere. Not only is this an enormous, unnecessary waste, but it affects the environment and pollution levels in the air. So, rather than dumping it, repurpose your mattress. Recycling is a terrific method to reducing the world’s pollution rates and reversing the impacts of climate change.

Each year, Australia sends around 1.6-1.8 million mattresses to landfills. So, by recycling your bed, you’re saving tons of valuable materials from ending up in the garage and helping the environment.

Mattresses contain toxic chemicals like formaldehyde. When these toxins break down in landfill, they are released into the soil, contaminating it. Because they’re so large and so many of them are thrown into junkyards, over time, it impacts the effect of climate change.

How to Recycle

Throughout Australia, there are multiple ways to recycle or repurpose your old mattress. Not only does this offer it a second life, but it can contribute to the reduction of emissions and the offset of climate change issues.

Once your mattress has reached the end of its life, it’s time to recycle and upgrade. You can recycle your old mattress with:

Local councils: Many local councils throughout Australia offer recycling serves or hard rubbish pickups. They will collect your old, unused furniture pieces and appliances, recycle and repurpose them. Check your local council’s website to find out more or contact them for details on their next collection day. They can be anywhere between one to three times a year.

Pick-Up Serves: There are several companies available in Australia and Melbourne that offer a pickup service just like the local council, where they’ll collect your old mattress and recycle it including:

1. Soft Landing – This company provides pick up serves across Australia. The social enterprise collects and then repurposes mattresses to keep them out of the waste and contributing to the climate change crisis.

2. Bed Collect – Available in Melbourne. This eco-friendly business collects up beds and recycles them for a small fee. Although there is a price to have your outdated mattress taken away, it’s being repurposed and reused, so it’s worth the money you pay.

3. There are many more online businesses out there that will collect your mattress; you simply have to Google to find the closest one to you. 

Donate it: If your mattress is still in good condition; it’s clean, free of stains and spills, then you can consider donating your bed. Of course, it’s not as easy putting it in a charity bin, you’ll have to take it down to your local op shop, but it gives your mattress a second life.

Sell it: Perhaps the mattress you originally bought wasn’t the type of mattress for you. You can sell it at online marketplaces to score some extra cash and give it another life.

TIP: If you have mattress toppers for extra support and comfort, you can even recycle these at the same time.

How Not To Recycle

It’s essential to dispose of your old mattress correctly and legally; otherwise, you could face fines and add to the growing waste problem in Australia.

Dumping your mattress on a curb, side street, or empty land may seem like the easy way to dispose of your bed, but it’s actually illegal to do so in Melbourne and most parts of Australia.

Don’t take it to a rubbish dump or put it into skips headed for landfill. This is extremely bad for the environment and a tremendous waste. It’s just as easy to take it to a local charity shop or a recycling station.

Avoid burning your mattress; this most definitely is not the way to rid yourself of your old bed. In fact, it’s just as bad for your health as it is for the environment. When exposed to fire, the chemicals and toxins inside mattresses add to the level of carbon dioxide in the air. These chemicals can also really damage your eyes, body and breathing if you’re standing too close to it while it’s on fire.

It’s best to recycle your mattress the right way for your health and the environment.

Where Does It Go After You’ve Recycled It?

So, you’ve donated your mattress to a great recycling program, but you’re wondering what happens to it after they take it?

To be recycled, mattresses must be manually pulled apart and sorted into sections. First, they’re taken to a recycling facility, where they’re inspected closely for dust mites or spills. If they’re wet, they’ll dry them before stripping them apart.

Multiple different parts of the mattress can be reused and repurposed.

• The timber: If your mattress has any wood in it for support and durability, it can be repurposed into woodchips to make different furniture pieces.

• The springs: The coils inside of spring mattresses can be melted down and reused to build other items such as buildings.

• Foam: Commonly found in memory and latex mattresses, the foam can be extracted and reused as carpet underlays.

• Fabric: The plush fabric that surrounds the mattress and cradles your body can be taken off and used to remake new, eco-friendly versions.

Recycling or repurposing your mattress is a simple process that declutters functional space and helps us care for the environment. Once you’ve got more room, you can consider buying a fresh mattress at an affordable price. Check out MyDeal’s variety today.