Where do old beds and mattresses end up? Well normally this would be the garbage dumpsites but then again that would just escalate the growing pain of our trash problems. But through the efforts and patience of concerned people in the world such as Tim Haggen, a researcher at the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) at the University of Minnesota, measures are being done to undertake this mattress problem.

Hagen is working on solving the mattress problem with an innovative and aggressive recycling program in Duluth, one of only two in the country where mattresses are taken apart and the components reused. Now in its fourth year, the program gets mattresses from all over the northern half of the state–by the truckloads.

NRRI funded a local effort to find markets for the materials that make up a mattress. The foam is easily sold to companies that make carpet underlayment. The wood frames are chipped up and used as a biomass fuel source. And the cotton is mixed with wood fibers for a local company that manufactures oil filters for diesel engines.

“The filter company tested the post-consumer cotton against using new cotton and there was absolutely no difference in performance,” says Hagen. “In the long run, this application saves raw materials costs and preserves valuable landfill space for future generations.”

The filter manufacturer uses about 50,000 pounds of cotton a year, and that’s about how much Goodwill Industries supplies it at the present time.

(Source) MinnPost

Understanding the Mattress Recycling Effort