For Those That Recycle Mattresses, We Salute You!

We were inspired to tackle mattress recycling in Texas by the cornucopia of organizations recycling mattresses across the United States. Several have been great allies in our mission. To show our gratitude, we want to salute and celebrate everyone recycling mattresses. Let’s start with the big boys!

Mattress Recycling Council (MRC)

At present, the vast majority of mattresses are recycled in three states that have enacted mattress recycling laws: Rhode Island, Connecticut, and California. These three states work with the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), a non-profit organization created by the International Sleep Products Association to develop and implement statewide mattress recycling programs for states that have enacted mattress recycling laws.

MRC educates the mattress industry about mattress recycling laws, assists retailers and manufacturers with their registration and reporting obligations, and works closely with local governments, waste management professionals, recyclers and others to create an accessible and efficient mattress collection and recycling network. Every year, over 1 million mattresses are recycled through these state programs.

What About States Outside the MRC?

In states not part of the MRC, a patchwork of independent entities has emerged to recycle mattresses. Imagine if Frankenstein tried painting a Picasso. Each services a select geographic area, and most operate in their own unique way. Many are organized as nonprofits, a few are associated with larger organizations such as the Cascade Alliance, and several function as for profit enterprises. Even state correctional facilities have gotten involved. Regardless of their legal structure or location, almost all of them charge a processing fee for the mattresses they recycle.

Find a Mattress Recycling Facility Near You

The MRC has developed a great tool Bye Bye Mattress, that maps the location of mattress recycling facilities across the United States. Take a look to find the closest one to you. It might be hard to a find a mattresses recycling entity near you, especially here in Texas. This is one of the reasons why we formed Re-Mat.

Since Texas doesn’t have a state mandate to recycle mattresses, it’s up to independent nonprofits such as Re-Mat to provide this needed service for our community. Although we will be launching our first facility in Central Texas, our ultimate goal is to be able to provide most major Texas metro areas with mattresses recycling services. Although a facility might not be near you now, the next time you’re looking to dispose of a mattress, you might want to take a look. Please don’t forget to share this information with family that might live near a facility.

To learn why mattress recycling is so important, take a look at our earlier post.

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