Innovative mattress recycling trials underway

Mattresses are sinkable, but sending old ones to landfills can lead to sinkholes. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of mattresses are sent to landfill in New Zealand each year.

They can clog machines, are difficult to compress, and create large soft spaces that can become sinkholes after filling.

But an innovative endeavor in Auckland is about to change all that.

In December 2022, the charitable trust Allheart New Zealand partnered with Ando, ​​an online retailer of appliances, mattresses and furniture, to conduct a trial to dismantle 20 mattresses. It turns out that over 75% of his mattress materials are recyclable.

Andoo has a comprehensive action plan for its sustainability efforts in Australia, including mattress recycling through the Soft Landing Product Stewardship Scheme.

Troy Tindill, Andoo’s New Zealand Country Manager, says when Andoo was launched in New Zealand over a year ago, no company offered a mattress recycling solution.

“Andoo’s mission is to provide a pleasant shopping experience. We care about our customers, our team, [our] Therefore, it was important for us to find a solution.

“We are proud and delighted to partner with All Heart NZ.This will give our customers peace of mind that we will take their old mattresses and recycle them, diverting 77 percent from landfills. .”

Mattress disposal is a long-standing issue

Colinda Rowe, Sustainability Development Manager at All Heart NZ, said she knew for some time that mattress disposal in New Zealand was a problem.

“It is estimated that 300,000 units end up in landfills each year, and despite efforts to set this and regional efforts, we do not have the resources to address this. does not have a product stewardship scheme in place We participated in a discussion with one of our clients who provide sustainability consulting services about recycling options for their mattresses.

“They were very keen to find a solution in New Zealand for the old mattresses they had collected from their customers. I’m here.

“We looked at the dismantling process. Recyclers and recyclers needed and obtained expertise from our sustainability experts who had some experience with this process.

“We decided that we had the resources and ability to offer a trial and offered it to the client, who was happy to accept and invest in the trial service,” says Colinda.

All Heart NZ partners with companies to effectively redirect and reuse redundant and unwanted items. This partnership will help further develop the sustainable, ethical and social aspects of procurement and supply chain management.

small beginning

Joe Youssef launched All Heart NZ after visiting a friend’s accounting firm in 2015 and finding one of his offices piled high with computers, desks, chairs and other junk. I was.

“It struck a chord with me. How many times in my office days have I seen similar products simply thrown away?

How many times have you left your unwanted cell phone, laptop or tablet in your drawer?

“My years of experience in the social sector have allowed me to look at those surpluses with fresh eyes. They are no longer a waste of space, but rather a pathway to social and environmental change. It became,” says Joe.

That led him to found All Heart NZ, which has evolved over time, including repurposing and reducing partnerships.

We specialize in turning unwanted corporate goods into valuable resources for local communities and promoting a circular economy while reducing landfill waste.

Kolinda said Ando was stocking up on mattresses while All Heart New Zealand worked on a mattress solution.

“We invested in the expertise and equipment needed for testing, and the client paid a per-mattress fee to recoup the cost of dismantling and recycling the mattress.

“Part of what they do is take back old mattresses when customers deliver new mattresses. We will continue to dismantle and recycle mattresses as needed,” Corinda said. increase.

Manual cutting and dismantling

Dismantling the mattress was done manually. They were placed on the table and cut into pieces. The separated components were collected and sent to various recyclers.

Corinda says about half of each mattress is metal springs that can be sent to a metal recycler.

“Foam can be recycled into items such as underlays, and coir (the coconut fiber found in old mattresses) can be composted with organic products.

We are able to recycle 77% of the mattress weight and are currently exploring options to recycle more components. ”

Non-recyclable parts, she said, are composite parts in which two different types of materials are joined or fused together, and recycling typically requires a single material component.

“Mattresses often have a layer of foam glued to the outer fabric or ticking area, and we found that in mattresses containing coir, this component is often glued to the foam. This contaminated the foam and made it unsuitable for recycling.”

There were some surprises along the way

Did anything surprise you during the process?

“Tons of staples holding some pieces together. We were taking apart a fairly old mattress and they were clearly not designed to be taken apart.”

Kolinda said the next step is to develop the ability to provide dedicated space and resources for the ongoing dismantling and recycling of mattresses, which will be introduced soon.

“We have received interest from several retailers who are interested in our solution and will be launching another trial concept soon.

Coir (coconut fiber found in old mattresses) is a compostable organic product

“This trial has demonstrated our ability to offer this service on a commercial basis and at scale.

Corinda said she is only reaching out to retailers at this stage. “However, we are committed to working with all industry players to create a viable and sustainable solution for New Zealand mattresses.”

“Ideally, a product control scheme would be put in place for mattresses,” says Corinda.

“The Waste Minimization Act 2008 has product stewardship provisions and to date we have declared six priority products and are working on these plans. This does not include mattresses.

“Currently, the program relies on participants willing to pay a mattress recycling fee and it is voluntary. level the playing field in terms of

“One way we do this is by adding a commission to the purchase of a new mattress to cover the cost of recycling it at the end of its life,” says Kolinda.

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