Mattresses are a substantial and extensive waste stream that are made from up to 19 different materials, making them extremely challenging to recycle. According to the National Bed Federation, about 6.4 million mattresses were disposed of in the UK in 2020, with the majority ending up in landfills. This equates to thousands of tonnes of waste, which is cluttering up landfills across the country and harming the environment. When compared to incineration, recycling a mattress saves 76 kg of CO2. This means that if the UK's 6.4 million mattresses were recycled, approximately 485 million kg of CO2 emissions could have been avoided.
To address this growing concern, IKEA has announced the launch of a new mattress removal and recycling initiative in conjunction with The Furniture Recycling (TFR) Group, providing a straightforward way for UK consumers to recycle old mattresses that would otherwise go to waste. The programme is going to broaden the spectrum of sustainable services available to IKEA consumers by converting mattresses into valuable raw materials that are recycled back into the economy.
IKEA clients can book a mattress collection online or in-store for £40 per item. The Furniture Recycling (TFR) Group, an IKEA partner, collects and transports mattresses to a specific recycling facility.
TFR Group diverts 100% of the mattresses it collects or receives from landfills by manually dismantling them with specialised cutting instruments, allowing the materials to be sorted into component pieces that are then cleaned for further processing.
This initiative seeks to encourage the development of a circular mattress value chain.
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