The City of Springfield has expanded mattress recycling collection services to its Franklin Avenue Recycling Center location at 731 N. Franklin Avenue.

Collection of mattresses and box springs began at the Springfield Sanitary Landfill and Lone Pine Recycling Center in March of this year. So far, the service has collected on average more than 150 mattresses and box springs per month.

“We’re thrilled the community has embraced this service,” says Mike Inman, Environmental Services Collection Center coordinator. “Not only are we providing a convenient method of disposing a difficult item, but recycling mattresses helps free up a significant amount of valuable space in the landfill.”

According to Cascade Alliance, a national leader in mattress recycling, Americans dispose of an estimated 20 million mattresses and box springs every year, and the vast majority end up in landfills or incinerators. Bulky mattresses are problematic for landfills: they take up a lot of space and create flammable air pockets, and the box springs get tangled in bulldozers, often damaging them. Mattresses contain nonbiodegradable synthetic foam and fibers, plus flame retardant chemicals.

Mattress collection and processing is provided via a contract with BedHead Mattress Recycling. Mattresses will be transported to BedHead’s facility in Billings, then deconstructed. Components are processed, shipped and ultimately become raw materials utilized by a number of manufacturers in products such as construction materials, wood chip mulch and more.

Mattress recycling is offered for a $15 fee per piece, regardless of size. Items must be clean, dry and not infested.

Recognizing that not everyone may be able to afford the recycling fee, Community Partnership of the Ozarks will provide vouchers to neighborhood associations for distribution during upcoming fall and spring Neighborhood Cleanup Events.  Vouchers will cover the full cost of mattress recycling and are made possible by a grant from the Ozarks Headwaters Recycling District.

About Springfield’s Integrated Solid Waste Management System

The Franklin Avenue Recycling Center, Lone Pine Recycling Center and the Springfield Sanitary Landfill are part of the City’s voter-approved Integrated Solid Waste Management System, which manages and reduces Springfield’s waste stream. The system is funded primarily by landfill fees and the sale of mulch and compost products at the Yardwaste Recycling Center. The system includes the Franklin Avenue Recycling Center, Yardwaste Recycling Center, Household Chemical Collection Center, Public Education and Market Development Programs. Curbside recycling is offered by private solid waste service providers.