1.5 Million Mattresses Recycled in CT Program in 8 Years

More than 1.5 million mattresses have been recycled in Connecticut since the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) started its Bye Bye Mattress program in 2015. Placed end-to-end, those mattresses would stretch 1,890 miles - from the northernmost tip of Maine to Key West, Florida.

In its recently filed annual report to Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, MRC notes it recycled 199,528 mattresses and box spring units during the last fiscal year.

The program also increased its recycling rate to 75% by processing 3,759 tons of steel, foam, fiber and wood into new products. Over the past eight years, MRC has diverted more than 24,000 tons of materials from the state’s solid waste stream.

Bye Bye Mattress collects units across the state at participating town transfer stations, public works yards, seasonal collection events and waste haulers offering curbside collection service. This collection network spans 154 Connecticut municipalities, an increase of seven from the prior year.

“We also cultivated more participation from mattress retailers and other types of businesses that have large amounts of mattresses to recycle at once,” said Dan McGowan, MRC’s Northeast Program Coordinator. “The mattresses we collect are recycled locally, providing jobs and turning valuable materials into new products like carpet padding and a variety of steel products.”

The Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) is a nonprofit organization that operates recycling programs in states that have passed mattress recycling laws: California, Connecticut and Rhode Island. MRC was founded by the bedding industry.

To learn how and where to recycle a mattress in your area visit www.ByeByeMattress.com.