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One of those questions that we get all the time at Junk King Boston is, ‘What do I do with my old mattress? When it comes to disposing of your mattress, the best option by far is recycling it. The Mattress Recycling Council says that 80-90 percent or more of your mattress can be recycled.
The sad part is that, given the fact that up to 90 percent of your mattress can be recycled, some estimate that 90 percent of mattresses actually wind up in landfills, where they will go on to pollute (more on that below).
Many parts of your old mattress can be recycled, even if you’re ready to move on and have Junk King take it away for you. Mattresses usually contain steel coils and a cotton outer layer that can go into new products after getting processes at a recycling center. The wood frame can be recycled, as well.
To get a feel for the scope of the problem, more than 20 million mattresses are ultimately thrown into landfills every year in the US. In fact, over 50,000 mattresses get dropped off at landfills every single day in the United States. Junk King Boston can help keep more mattresses out of landfills as North America’s ‘greenest’ junk removal company.
Mattress Recycling: Reasons to Ponder
Responsible mattress disposal is a big part of Junk King Boston’s business because Junk King is the ‘greenest’ junk removal company in North America. Keeping mattresses out of landfills is a big deal: It takes between 50 to 100 years for the average mattress to decompose naturally if left in a landfill.
While those fifty years are ticking by, the mattress will likely be giving off volatile organic compounds as it gets exposed to the elements. (These volatile organic compounds are bad for humans, animals, and the environment.) Mattresses also end up requiring a lot of space in landfills: a single mattress can occupy about 25 cubic feet in a landfill.
While the mattress is in the landfill, the chemicals that comprise the foam and inner fibers of an old mattress can leach into the local ground and potentially even the water supply. Mattresses in landfills have to be buried where they were put, unfortunately.
Eco-friendly Mattress Disposal
Junk King can help facilitate the process of eco-friendly mattress disposal by hauling away your old mattress. There are recycling facilities out there can are happy to take your old mattress after it has been sorted at the Junk King warehouse.
Your mattress will get sanitized once it gets to the recycling center. After that, your mattress will be sorted, baled, and recycled so that it can be used for more products, thus saving valuable resources. Old mattresses that get recycled can become new mattresses, upholstery, textiles, or even beds for your pets.
The foam padding from your old mattress can be made into carpeting, too. Believe it or not, the foam padding from your old mattress can eventually be turned into the padding on new exercise equipment or the cushioning for seats.
The part that is baled from your old mattress is the steel and metal inside. This can be put towards a variety of different products later: poles, lighting, benches, etc. The options are usually only limited here by what the manufacturer decides on after the metal is melted down.
The bed frame itself, which Junk King Boston also takes, can be used for tomorrow’s landscaping in the form of, for instance, wood pellets. Wood can also be put towards an alternative fuel source known as biomass.
How Mattress Recycling Works
After Junk King Boston stops by and picks up your mattress, though, what actually happens to your old mattress? Initially, your old mattress will be put with other mattresses in the Junk King warehouse; then your old mattress will head to a nearby recycling facility.
Your mattress will then be inspected for things like bed bugs. (If your mattress has bed bugs, then the mattress will likely be responsibly disposed of in order to prevent the spread of infestation to recyclable mattresses in the same area.) If your mattress checks out, then it will head slipped inside the recycling facility, i.e., away from exposure to the elements.
The first part of the actual disassembly process will likely be removing the fabric and fiber from inside the mattress. From there, old box springs and the interior steel wiring will typically be removed and baled using a special device. Once turned into steel bales, the old steel from your mattress can be sent to a metal recycling plant and melted down into fresh steel for new products.
Avoid Waste with Junk King
Throwing your mattress in a landfill contributes to the total amount of waste in the world, creates pollution in the atmosphere (mattresses contain volatile organic compounds), and prevents the materials within mattresses from being recycled.
Your mattress likely contains a number of different components that can be responsibly disposed of or recycled. The foam padding from your mattress, for instance, can be put towards home insulation, carpeting, or bedding material once it is processed.
The springs in your mattress can go towards metal recycling, as well. The wooden frame can be shredded down for a number of different applications, such as lawn mulch; wood frames can also be used as an innovative alternative fuel source if done the right way.
Junk King Boston is here to ensure that your mattress gets recycled in an eco-friendly and useful way.
Mattress Disposal with Junk King
More modern mattresses made predominately of foam can also be recycled, and Junk King Boston takes these mattresses, too! The foam inside can be taken out and used for new mattresses, insulation for homes, or carpeting. Book online for responsible mattress disposal with Junk King and save $20 on orders of more than $99.
Aside from environmental stewardship, customers rave about Junk King Boston because of the friendly service and great rates. In fact, you will only pay for the space inside the ‘big red’ Junk King trucks that you actually use, which can really add up to savings with mattress disposal.
