Out of 20 million mattresses that will be thrown away this year, only about 250,000 will be recycled--at least, in some parts of the country.
Emmet County is hoping they will have much better recycling numbers than that with the announcement of a new mattress recycling program in association with Michigan Mattress Recyclers of Gaylord.
Now, mattresses, box springs and even futons can be recycled at the Emmet County Drop-off Center, for a fee substantially lower than the usual price you'd pay to drop off a mattress to be thrown away in the landfill.
"Of course, recycling mattresses will be better for the environment than burying all those resources in a landfill," says Elisa Seltzer, director of Emmet County Recycling. "At the same time, this is another example of how recycling benefits the economy: creating new jobs right here in northern Michigan and saving our customers money."
The fee to recycle a twin or single mattress is $8, while a double, queen or king is $12. The landfilling charge is typically $11 and $22 respectively.
Michigan Mattress Recyclers will break the mattresses, box springs and futons into components like wood, cotton, polyurethane and steel for reuse as industrial commodities, says Seltzer.
The county expects to have a good response to the initiative; the landfill took in more than 1,000 mattresses, box springs and futons in 2011, and more are expected to come in with the new recycling program underway.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Elisa Seltzer, Emmet County
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