Scotland’s largest independent bed retailer, Archers Sleepcentre, has partnered with Hamilton Waste & Recycling to recycle all the used mattresses and beds from its customer take back scheme.
When purchasing a new mattress, Archers’ customers have the opportunity to return their old mattress or bed for recycling. These are taken to one of the company’s two regional warehouses where they are bulked up ready for transportation to Hamilton’s flagship recycling facility in East Lothian.
The partnership will see Hamilton recycle approximately 3300 beds and mattresses a year recovering over 90% of their components for use in new products. In addition to the widely recycled metal springs, the foam and polyester from mattresses is also recovered and sent to manufacturers where it’s sanitised and reused in a range of products. The outer cases are manufactured into a sustainable waste derived fuel which is used to offset fossil fuels and means 100% of the mattress is diverted from landfill. To further increase recycling rates, Archers also promote a voucher scheme to over 1.5 million households which enables them to dispose of their old bed for free.
Commenting on the partnership, Hamilton Waste & Recycling’s Managing Director, Robin Stevenson, said: “Archers shares our commitment to giving waste a second life and by offering their customers the opportunity to recycle their old beds and mattresses they are doing just that. Mattresses are over 90% recyclable, so it’s criminal that so many of these valuable secondary resources are lost in landfill every year.”
The UK throws away around 7 million mattresses every year of which only around 20% are recycled. The situation in Scotland is even worse with less than 1 in 10 mattresses recycled at the end of its life.
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