Tired Old Mattresses, Box Springs Can Get a New Life
at Town-wide Collection and Recycling Event on April 23rd
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Fairfield, CT, March 31, 2022 – More than 50,000 mattresses are discarded in the U.S. every day – consigning to the nation’s waste stream an item that actually can be recycled into many new, useful products.
If you have an old mattress or box spring that you’d like to discard in a better, more environmentally friendly way, plan on bringing it to a free, Town-wide mattress collection event to be held on Saturday, April 23, from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM at Veterans Park, 909 Reef Road.
The event is sponsored by the Sustainable Fairfield Task Force (SFTF) in cooperation with the Bye Bye Mattress program of the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), a nonprofit organization that operates recycling programs in states with mattress recycling laws, currently including Connecticut, California and Rhode Island. The MRC uses a recycling fee collected on each mattress and box spring sold in those states to support its programs.
Any mattress, no matter when it was purchased, can be brought to the event for no-cost recycling, if it is not damaged, heavily soiled or posing other health or safety risks.
Recycling Mattresses Helps the Environment, Saves Fairfield Money
Seventy-five percent or more of a mattress’ components can be re-used in many consumer and industrial products. Through the recycling process, foam, fiber and other soft materials are saved; metal and springs are extracted and sent to scrap recyclers and then to steel mills and foundries, and the wood is used for fuel.
The Town’s first-ever mattress recycling event, held in September 2021, resulted in the collection of nearly 150 mattresses and box springs. “Recycling mattresses is a big plus for the environment and also saves the Town money by reducing the fees on the amount of waste that we ship to landfills and incinerators,” said Bob Wall, SFTF chairman.
To learn more about the benefits of mattress recycling, please visit the Bye Bye Mattress website.
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About the SFTF: The SFTF provides support for Town practices and projects that can help Fairfield manage its growth to safeguard the health of its environment, ensure the reliability and economical use of its natural resources, and preserve the quality of life of its residents – today and for the future. For more information, please visit Sustainable Fairfield.org