A Truganina-based company has announced a new initiative to help prevent the illegal dumping of mattresses in urban and natural areas.
The industry-first, not-for-profit program is also set to prevent thousands of tonnes of bedding from reaching landfill, by recycling mattresses, sheets and pillowcases into a range of new products.
Bed retailer Ecosa said it plans to expand the initiative to recycle a range of other household items, including furniture, in the future.
Ecosa spokesperson Eden Benito said that the company’s new recycling initiative has been designed to make it easier for consumers to recycle items like unwanted mattresses and bedding.
Mr Benito said the initiative would allow households to request unwanted mattresses to be picked up from their homes, regardless of where they were originally purchased.
Mattresses collected by the company will be taken to a warehouse to be assessed, with those in good condition donated to charities to support families in need.
Older mattresses will be taken apart to recycle individual materials, such as the foams being re-used in carpet underlay, and metal springs used for metal roofing.
“Textile waste is a significant problem for the environment as polyester can take over 200 years to decompose and, even then, can create challenges,” Mr Benito said.
Every year Australian consumers throw out more than one million mattresses, many of which end up in landfill.
Mattresses also account for an estimated 20 per cent of inorganic waste found in bushland areas, abandoned on riverbanks and left on footpaths across Australia.
Details about the mattress pick-up service and the sheet recycling can be found on Ecosa’s website.
Details: www.ecosa.com.au/recycling
