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That first night sleeping on your brand new mattress is amazing. But you might be wondering what to do with your old one? If you want to do your bit for the environment, choosing to recycle your mattress will make a difference. Over 8 million mattresses in the UK end up in landfill sites each year. With mattress recycling services becoming widely available and affordable, there's more reason than ever to choose to recycle.
How to dispose of a mattress in the UK?
According to the Sleep Council, we should be changing our mattresses once every seven years. However, a good-quality mattress should last for between eight and ten. Perhaps a better way to judge whether it’s time to get rid of your existing one is to look out for the following signs:
- Lumps - These start to form when the filling in the mattress moves around and clumps together. The result is that the mattress won’t offer you support in all the right places. It can cause uncomfortable areas on the sleeping surface.
- Sagging - When the springs start to get past their sell-by, fillings get compressed. Or when memory foam softens beyond being supportive. This can result in back problems for the sleepers.
- Allergen accumulation - Even if a mattress only lasts seven years, that’s around 2,555 days of use. Each night, we shed approximately 300,000 dead skin cells, which provides food for dust mites. Over the years, even the best mattresses will accumulate allergens. If you itch in bed, wake up sneezing or feel as though you’ve got a cold brewing, it might be time to consider our mattress disposal service.
- A sore back - A sore back that seems worse after each night’s sleep is a probable indicator that your mattress needs replacing.
However, getting rid of your old mattress isn’t as simple as it sounds. It can be an expensive process and one that’s not particularly good for the environment.
But there are a few options for mattress disposal, including:
- Collected by the local council
- Taken to the local tip (refuse centre)
- Mattress recycling
- Collection by the company delivering the new mattress
The good news is that we offer an environmentally-friendly mattress recycling service that can help you save time and money while doing your bit for the planet.
Mattress recycling
Statistics released by the National Bed Federation show that only around 19% of mattresses are recycled. The main reason behind this is the cost and inconvenience to the person getting rid of it. However, MattressNextDay has partnered up with The Furniture Recycling Group, to make disposing of and recycling mattresses easier and cheaper for our customers.
Based in the UK, The Furniture Recycling Group has developed a unique dismantling process that breaks each mattress down into 19 constituent parts. Steel springs can be melted down to create new products from the recycled metal. Foam mattresses can be turned into carpet underlay. Even the fibrous fillers can be given a new lease of life.
Is mattress removal free?
Mattress disposal always comes with a price tag. Even if you use your local council’s old mattress disposal services, you’ll be looking at a starting price of around £50. Prices vary from council to council so it may cost even more. On top of that, you may find that there are certain caveats. This could include only being able to pick it up from a designated place and at a designated time on a designated day. Deciding to take it up to your local tip can also be problematic. If your car isn’t big enough to take the mattress when it’s flat, you’ll need to roll it and tie it up.
In addition, even if you do manage to get it there, there’s no guarantee that your old mattress will become part of a mattress recycling program. It might end up as one of the 8 million that make their way to landfill sites across the UK.
While you could seek out the services of a recycling company, it’s far more convenient to use the service provided by the company you’ve bought your bed from. Remember that incorrect disposal of your mattress, even by a company acting on your behalf, could be classed as illegal fly-tipping and ultimately lead to you being fined or maybe even prosecuted.
How much does mattress recycling cost?
Our mattress disposal service only costs £39. It takes all the stress and heavy-lifting out of the process for you.
The fee you pay for this service goes towards the recycling service, helping to ensure that every part of your old mattress can be salvaged and reused. Special machinery, such as automated mattress stripping machines and automated pocket spring recycling machines are being fine-tuned and developed to create a service that feeds all the reclaimed materials back into other industries.
The Furniture Recycling Group works with businesses like ours to provide a sustainable service. And, to also help reduce the 167,000 tonnes of old mattresses that are sent to landfill sites each and every year.
When I buy a new mattress, do you take the old one?
When you order your new mattress from us, select ‘Recycle my old mattress’ and we’ll pick up your old mattress when we drop off your new one. Unlike trying to do it yourself, you won’t have to pack the mattress in a particular way. All we need is easy access to it and we’ll take care of the rest.
When it comes to delivering your new mattress, whether it’s a traditional sprung version of a rolled and boxed memory foam option, you can arrange to have it delivered to the room of your choice. Put straight onto your bed frame. No fuss, no bother; it’s just a case of out with the old and in with the new.
Can you take away more than one mattress?
At MattressNextDay, we offer a ‘like for like’ old mattress collection service. For example, if you are ordering two mattresses from us, you can arrange to have up to two of your old mattresses picked up and recycled at the same time. This is due to the storage capacity in our delivery vans. It also helps minimise the number of trips made to and from the depot. In turn, this helps to keep things greener.
The disposal fee applies to each mattress so that it can contribute towards the costs of recycling them, individually. The Furniture Recycling Group has made it its mission to see 100% of mattresses recycled in the future.
Can I donate my mattress to charity?
If you’re wondering where to dispose of mattress parts or how to dispose of a mattress in its entirety, then there are a few options available. However, many of these will be dictated by the condition the mattress is in. Before you decide to throw it away, check it over. If it’s in a good state, you may find other options open to you. One of the best ways to dispose of a good-quality used mattress is to donate it to charity. This will only apply if the mattress is in good, clean condition and still bears its fire safety label, which is normally found on the underside. Check out charities such as the Red Cross, the British Heart Foundation, women’s refuges, and homeless centres. In most cases, you’ll be asked to transport it yourself, but some charities operate a pick-up system.
How are mattresses recycled?
During the recycling process, mattresses are broken down and assessed for reusable parts. How much of your mattress will be recycled depends on the type and quality of the mattress at the time of recycling. During the dismantling process, each mattress component is separated into large bales. These bales are then sent to the relevant recycling destinations to get ready to be re-used. Some mattress materials are unable to be recycled. Occasionally, the covers and fillings can't be re-used. These parts will be disposed of in refuse sites. Mattresses made using natural materials like latex and wool tend to be best for complete recycling. However, all mattresses have parts that are able to be re-used so it's always beneficial to opt for recycling rather than sending the mattress to landfill.
Why choose MattressNextDay?
MattressNextDay offers a convenient old mattress disposal and recycle service to all our customers. Here are a few reasons why you should consider it:
The first is that it's both easy and affordable. If you're buying a new mattress from us, you can simply add the collection and disposal of your old one onto the order. It really is as easy as that.
The second is you get complete peace of mind that we're doing what we promise to do in actually processing the mattress for recycling. We have a partnership with Ecologi to help track our progress towards greener business practices. Additionally, teaming up with Ecologi means that we are a carbon positive workforce, and have officially pledged to plant a tree for every customer order. So our promise is one that you can rely on.
We offer an affordable and hassle-free way to dispose of your old mattress. It's convenient, environmentally friendly, and affordable, so make sure if you have an old mattress to dispose of that you choose MattressNextDay to help you.
