Australians throw out about 1.8m mattresses are thrown out each year and it is often seen dumped on the verge of the road ready for someone to pick it up or waiting for the Council Collection.
Most mattresses that are collected by the council goes straight to landfill.
With landfill space reaching its capacity, we need to look at ways to reduce the mattress reaching landfill.
Did you know that your mattress has an expiry date on it?
It just doesn't show on the label like it does on food jars or packages you find in the supermarket.
The expiry date of a mattress differs from one individual to another.
One may use the mattress the entire time of their life (eww) or another may change their mattress after every home move.
At DuuDuu, we recommend using your mattress for up to 10 years as any mattress that last any less would be deemed as of inferior quality.
Why it is not easy to just throw your mattress away.
Firstly, a mattress is not like a food jar where when you're done with it, it goes into the bin.
It is big, bulky, hard to store in the store room and hard to get rid off which makes it one of the most challenging household item to get rid off.
Most councils across Australia allow you at least one to two free pickup from outside your home each year.
Take for example, a Queen mattress is usually around 203cm by 153cm and weighs around 46kg.
It is made with components of metal, foam, latex and other fabrics and doesn't break down easily.
If these components were to go to landfill, it'll take almost 100 years to break down one mattress releasing harmful greenhouse gas along the way.
What percentage of the mattress is recycled?
About 75% of the mattress can be recycled to:
- Steel manufacturers are using scrap as part of the manufacturing of new steel, as it has a smaller carbon footprint than making it from scratch.
- Foam of the mattress, which is also reusable, goes into the manufacturing and remanufacturing of floor coverings – primarily carpet underlay.
- Latex is shredded for reuse as carpet underlay, cushioning or even in new couches.
The other 25% of the mattress which are usually the fabrics cannot be recycled.
DuuDuu offers FREE mattress removal service. This is how it works.
- Buy your new mattress online and organize a mattress removal service directly with our trusted partner.
- Click on "Trade in" option at check out.
- We will contact you in regards to the date we will remove your old mattress and it'll be after your new mattress is delivered.
- Please note removal of your old mattress and delivery of your new mattress are carried out by different service providers.
