Ever wonder how many mattresses are disposed of in your city? We’ve compiled statewide population data for some of the largest cities in Texas to show you how many mattresses are disposed of and how many tons of materials are lost to landfills every year. Full list at the bottom.

Be Prepared to be shocked!

Re-Mat Texas Mattress Disposal Rates - Mattress Recycling

Where Does Your Population Data Come From?

All city population data was pulled from the beloved U.S. Census Bureau: “Annual Estimates of the Resident Population April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014” and “B01001 Sex by Age.” 2010 – 2014 American Community Survey.

*Statewide population data was pulled from the Texas Department of Health Human Services 2016 Population Projections

How Did You Estimate Disposal Volume?

Our calculation methodology is based on the following two assumptions:

  1. 10% of the population buys a new mattress every year

  2. This is equal to the number of mattresses that are to be disposed

Using the above methodology, the annual volume of mattresses disposed of by a given residential population can be estimated with the following calculation:

 (Population) x (10%) = Volume of Mattresses Disposed Annually

It’s important to note that this methodology doesn’t take into consideration large entities that dispose of mattresses in bulk such as: hotels, hospitals, universities, military bases, correctional facilities, retailers, senior living centers, other nonprofits, etc. Nor does the above follow the industry norm, which says mattresses should be replaced every 7 years. As a result, the above estimations are actually conservative.

Therefore, the cities in our great State of Texas are disposing of more mattresses than estimated above!

We told you to be ready to be shocked!

How Did You Estimate Volume of Materials Lost?

This ones a little trickier. Mattress construction techniques and material composition has undergone several transitions over the last 30 years. There are numerous different types and sizes now available on the market, each with their own unique weight.

Several industry sources report the following average weight by size: Twin 45 pounds, Full 56 pounds, Queen 71 pounds, King 90 pounds. Some memory foam mattresses can weigh upwards of 180 pounds. Twin and Queen sizes make up the largest portion of mattress sales, and innerspring mattresses still dominate sales volume.

Taking all these factors into account, we assumed a good conservative estimate would be an average weight of 60 pounds per mattress. We then used the following calculation to estimate volume (tons) of materials lost:

(Volume of Mattresses Disposed x 60) / 2,000 = Tons of Materials Lost

As always, we walked a conservative line with our calculations, and the numbers presented above understate the true amount of materials lost to landfills across the state.

Is shell shock starting to set in?

Didn’t See Your City. Don’t Worry, We’ve Got You Covered!

Texas is a big state, and we couldn’t fit the entire city list on our blog. But never fear, we’ve got you covered. You can download the full Texas city list by clicking here.

The downloadable Excel datasheet has 1,447 Texas cities and we’re sure you can find yours. Jump back to the top.