Choose a Mattress Retailer that Recycles
The Mattress Problem
An estimated 600,000 mattresses are dumped in Ireland every year, which costs around €100m to the Irish economy. There is a huge environmental cost too – mattresses are bulky, use a lot of landfill space and take around 100 years to decompose.
Ireland needs to stop dumping mattresses in landfill and recycle them instead, to boost the circular economy. Consumer interest in eco-friendly options for mattress disposal is growing.
Buying a New Mattress?
You can play your part by purchasing your new mattress from a retailer who will recycle – not dump – your old one!
Choose a retailer who has been awarded a Retailer Recycling Certificate from Bounce Back Recycling (BBR). Why? Because BBR recycle by hand and recover more reusable materials from each mattress they recycle as a result. That’s better for the environment and our circular economy.
Since 2017, Bounce Back Recycling (BBR) has diverted over 120,000 mattresses from landfill and re-used the extracted materials. We actively educate retailers, councils and the public about the responsible recycling of mattresses and the circular economy.
We developed the BBR Retailer Recycling Certificate to reward responsible retailers and let consumers know they recycle old mattresses responsibly. Our Retailer Recycling Certificate is a definitive statement of a business’s commitment to sustainability.
You can make an informed decision to buy your mattress from a responsible retailer.
Before you buy a new mattress, ask the retailer if they:
1. Will take your old mattress back for recycling
2. Have gained the BBR Retailer Recycling Cert
How Bounce Back Recycling Helps You, the Environment & the Economy
BBR offer a drop off facility and collection services to retailers, householders, hospitality businesses and local authorities in 13 counties. This helps county councils and businesses achieve EU targets on waste and recycling in line with the National Waste Plan.
By 2025, at least 55% of municipal waste must be recycled to meet EU targets. Furthermore, by 2034, landfill must be reduced to 10% of all municipal waste.
Our team are skilfully trained to break down mattresses by hand to ensure the maximum number of components are recycled. Soft materials are used for making carpet underlay. Metal springs are recycled for use by companies like Galway Metal. BBR eventually plans to expand its successful, sustainable practice to all 26 counties.
