Mattress Recycling Council's Rhode Island Program Eclipses 500,000 Mattresses

Over the last five years, Rhode Islanders have paid a recycling fee when buying mattresses and box springs. That fee has enabled the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) to create a program known as Bye Bye Mattress that recycles these products from Rhode Island residents and commercial sources at no cost.

Photo Insert: A worker cuts open a mattress to start the recycling process. Layers of material are separated and organized by type.

As a result, more than 500,000 mattresses have been recycled, diverting more than 8,000 tons of steel, foam, fibers, and wood from the state's central landfill, PR Newswire reported.

Since its 2016 launch, MRC has recruited municipal transfer stations, waste haulers, nonprofit organizations, mattress retailers, hotels, universities, and hospitals to divert their discarded mattresses to recycling.

Currently, 37 Rhode Island cities and towns and more than 200 Rhode Island-based public and private entities participate in the program.

"MRC's Bye Bye Mattress is keeping mattresses out of the central landfill and off streets, alleys, and other public spaces that are often targets of illegal dumping," said MRC's Managing Director Mike O'Donnell.

"This program is also conserving valuable resources and supporting green jobs."

In its most recent annual report submitted to Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC), MRC emphasized meeting all established performance goals and described the efforts taken to achieve them.

The report also highlights MRC's research projects which include conducting studies to identify new end markets, testing the physical properties of mattress components, and establishing collaborative industry relationships to create a circular economy for polyurethane foam.

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