This document discusses mattress recycling and refurbishing. It provides information on mattress laws, recycling standards, transportation costs, and how to identify legitimate mattress recyclers. The document notes that 20 million mattresses are discarded in the US each year, and collecting $10 per mattress sold could generate $18.50 to recycle each one discarded. It also discusses the costs of mattress recycling operations and expanding recycling programs by reducing landfill subsidies.

1. WIRMC
February 2016
Brian Tippetts
 Part-owner 7 Rivers
Recycling
 Business Manager
Hilltopper Refuse
and Recycling
 Immediate Past
President and officer
of SWANA

2. What happens to a
used mattress
 Landfill
 Relative
 Thrift store
 Waste–to-energy
 Renovator/refurbisher
 Recycled

3. What is Mattress Recycling?
Recycled or Recycling:
includes collection, sorting,
marketing, processing, and
transforming or
remanufacturing Recyclable
Materials into Recycled
Materials and Recycled
Products,…
…“refurbishing”, which is less
extensive, including
renovating, repairing,
restoring, or generally
improving the appearance,
performance, quality,
functionality, or value of
the used product for reuse or
resale.
Source: www.swan.org T-0 definitions

4. Mattress Law
Wis. Stat. § 100.2095
(1) In this section, "bedding" means any mattress,
upholstered spring, comforter, pad, cushion or
pillow designed and manufactured for the purpose
of sleeping or reclining.
(4) No person in the business of selling
bedding may sell, offer for sale, consign for sale
or possess with intent to sell, offer for sale or
consign for sale any article of bedding if the article
of bedding contains any material that has been
used in any hospital or has been used by
or about any person having an
infectious or contagious disease.
(5) No person in the business of distributing
or selling bedding, with intent to distribute, sell,
offer for sale or consign for sale any article
of bedding, may represent that any
article of bedding, which contains material that has
been previously used in other bedding, is
manufactured of material that has not been
previously used in other bedding.

5. NEW MATTRESS OLD MATTRESS

6. What’s the big deal with the resale
or refurbishing of mattresses?
Bed Bugs
MRSA (Super Bug)
Needles/paraphernalia

7. Who Are the refurbishers?
The Department of Business Affairs
and Consumer Protection began
investigating mattress refurbishers and
stores that sell refurbished bedding
after many consumers
complained that recently
purchased mattresses were
infested with bedbugs.
The Department cited these
businesses (below) for
misrepresenting the
bedding they manufactured or sold.
Over 7 pages.

8. Thrift Store Mattresses
Buying a refurbished mattress can
be risky if the item hasn't been
carefully inspected and thoroughly
disinfected.
Bed bugs, urine and feces
stains, bodily fluids, food
particles, roaches, fleas and
bacteria could all be present
in a used mattress.
Weigh the risks against the benefits
when deciding to purchase a
refurbished mattress; if you have
small children or elderly people in
your home you might decide to go
ahead and spend the extra money
on a new mattress.

9. Mattress Recycling
Standards
What are they?

10. Used Mattress Ethics
1. Is it legal?
2. Is the consumer
informed?
3. Is the consumer
educated?
4. To the extent possible,
avoid arrangements with
unethical parties.

11. What mattress recyclers fail?
Recycling mattresses for
less than 1 year
Are not making a
reasonable profit
Loss of subsidized labor
or financial donors
Loss of key leadership

12. How to identify a legit recycler
with staying power?
 Years in business as a business
 Years recycling mattresses
 Registered/listed mattress recycler
 Active, not just a member, in relevant
associations
 Detail of relationship with
refurbishers
 Pricing
 Website
 Phone
 Landfills used and detail of usage
 Agency references

13. What does it cost to
“recycle” a mattress?
On 5/23/15 every Mattress
Recycling Council
“Registered”/ “Listed”
mattress recycler with a
website was searched for
pricing w/o transportation .
Average price:
$15.39/unit
Mean price: $15/unit

14. More Mattress Math
37 Million mattresses
sold in the US every year
20 Million mattresses
discarded in the US
every year
If $10 is collected for
every mattress sold in
the US, that would make
$18.50 available to
recycle every mattress
discarded.

15. Mattress recycling wages
Living wage 2015 - $12.62
The bidder agrees to pay a
base wage of not less than
the City minimum hourly
wage
Contractor agrees to offer
and provide benefits to
employees with domestic
partners

16. Mattress Costs
Payroll
Building/office/ utilities
Equipment
Taxes/Insurance
Marketing per SBA 7-8 %
ROI/expansion (S&P 500)
>10%
43%
15%
12%
16%
7%7%
Payroll Building/utlities/ops
Equipment Taxes/insurance
Marketing ROI

17. Transportation costs
http://www.thetruckersreport.c
om/infographics/cost-of-
trucking/
http://www.dat.com/resources
/trendlines/van/national-rates

18. Transportation costs
per internet and full
semi
Madison to La Crosse
140 miles $4.80/unit

19. How to kill mattress recycling in Wisconsin

20. How to expand
mattress recycling
1. Stop landfill subsidies
Uncover the hidden costs of
landfilling
 Airspace waste
 Equipment downtime
 Workers comp
 Mattress placement costs
 Larger fires
The 2 minute mattress

21. www.7RiversRecycling.com
Thank you,
Brian Tippetts
608 781 0257