MRC Reaches New Recycling Milestone

In March, the Mattress Recycling Council celebrated an achievement — 12 million mattresses recycled.

Here’s a visual to put it in perspective: If 12 million mattresses were stacked on top of each other, the pile would extend nearly 2,000 miles into space.

The materials extracted and recycled from these mattresses amount to more than 450 pounds of material diverted from landfills and incinerators.

“As we cross the 12 millionth mattress milestone, we share this achievement with our many partners — mattress manufacturers, retailers, collectors, recyclers and state officials who have collaborated with MRC to make our program a success,” said Mike O’Donnell, MRC’s chief operating officer.

Today, more than 75% of these mattresses are recycled into new products. To try to recycle even more of the mattress, MRC continues to invest in research projects to find new and better uses for foam, fibers and wood, while facilitating information sharing and best practices between the mattress industry and recyclers.