Mattress-recycling levels reach 1 million pounds for West Virginia retailer

Mattress retailer Innovative Mattress Solutions recycled more than 1 million pounds of mattress material in 2013.

The Winfield, W. Va.-based company does business as Mattress Warehouse, Sleep Outfitters and Mattress King in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and Alabama.

According to Spring Back Mattress Recycling, an award-winning mattress recycler based in Nashville, Tenn., IMS stores had shipped it 14,590 used mattresses and foundations as of Nov. 1, equaling 1,099,649 pounds of recycled mattress material for the first 11 months of 2013.

“It’s exciting to know that we’re leading the mattress industry nationwide with our mattress-recycling efforts,” says Kim Knopf, IMS president and chief executive officer.

IMS sends about 400 mattresses a week to Spring Back, where they are disassembled and their components are repurposed. Stores charge a $19.99 recycling fee to haul away customers’ old mattresses.

“We’re trying to do our part to be an eco-friendly company and keep discarded mattresses out of our communities’ landfills,” Knopf says.

Spring Back began in March 2011, the idea of a group of Belmont University business students. The company employs homeless and formerly incarcerated men to help them lead productive lives.

“More than 98% of all mattress and box spring components are recycled, while the program pays for itself,” says John Gonas, the Belmont University finance professor who advises the program. “We are very grateful for the partnership with Mattress Warehouse, Sleep Outfitters and Mattress King.”