| rocess of mattress recycling involves cooperative | | | | government invasion of your privacy and raising |
| participation by government, business enterprises | | | | your income or sales taxes? The answer is yes |
| and individuals. After all, mattress recycling by | | | | and that example is the tire recycling process |
| definition is indeed a cyclic process. To begin the | | | | where there is a fee structure at time of |
| cycle, on the supply side you have mattress | | | | purchase to fund future tire recycling and a fee |
| manufacturers producing mattresses, these | | | | to cover the cost of recycling current consumer |
| mattresses are then distributed and sold by | | | | owned used tires. |
| businesses and on the demand side these | | | | If you consider the mattress on your bed and |
| mattresses are purchased by consumers. The | | | | what you would have to do to place your own |
| recycling process is placed on hold as long as the | | | | mattress into the mattress recycling stream, it |
| consumer chooses to use the mattress. | | | | becomes intuitively and for that matter blatantly |
| When the consumer decides the mattress is | | | | obvious to you that mattresses are a pain to |
| excess to their use, the recycling process starts | | | | move about the bedroom let alone some distance |
| from collecting and processing of unwanted | | | | to a mattress recycling facility. So, the initial |
| mattresses. The collection of mattresses differs | | | | problem your government may wish to address is |
| from community to community. If you live in a | | | | the high cost of transporting bulky mattresses |
| community that has yet to formulate and legislate | | | | from consumer locations to the mattress |
| a mattress recycling program, then odds are very | | | | recycling facility. One short cut here is to mandate |
| high that when you drive around your community | | | | that businesses selling mattresses also collect the |
| you frequently see discarded mattresses beside | | | | old mattresses. This centralizes the used |
| the road, in open dumps and/or piled up against | | | | mattresses at one place for the business and |
| clothes and shoes donation collection boxes where | | | | makes it more efficient to bulk haul used |
| they are not wanted. If this is your situation, then | | | | mattresses to the mattress recycling facility. If |
| up until this moment - your community allowing | | | | the business uses a large trailer the used |
| open mattress dumping has not been your fault. | | | | mattresses can be stored in the dry trailer until |
| However, most communities collect them through | | | | the trailer is full enough to justify the trip to the |
| the application of three primary methods, namely, | | | | mattress recycling facility. Also, your community |
| drop-off centers, curbside trash pickup, and at the | | | | may wish to use trailers at landfills and city-wide |
| local landfill. Currently, most collection methods | | | | collection centers. |
| result in landfill deposition of used mattresses. | | | | Once at the mattress recycling facility the |
| Landfills are a precious and limited resource and | | | | mattress needs to be broken down into its |
| putting mattresses in landfills takes up | | | | recyclable components so that the recycler can |
| unnecessary space shortening landfill life and | | | | sort the components into saleable products. This |
| creates problems for landfill operation machinery | | | | author submits to you that when government |
| with springs entangling wheels and axles, etc. | | | | imposed fees include manually breaking down the |
| Some mattress recyclers address the machinery | | | | mattresses into component parts that can be |
| problems and some of the space requirements by | | | | recycled is the end of the need for supplemental |
| grinding up the mattress into smaller, | | | | fees in the mattress recycling process. This is |
| non-connected, pieces prior to placing them in | | | | because the Recyler will receive income from the |
| landfills. This is costly and the same quantity of | | | | recycled mattress components especially from |
| waste materials still goes into the landfills. | | | | cotton, foam, felt and steel. (There are many |
| Several non-profit groups have seen the benefit | | | | other parts, but these four are the bread |
| of breaking mattresses down into their basic | | | | winners.) |
| components and recycling each components for | | | | So, what activities should these government fees |
| resale. This is quite commendable, and it | | | | cover and how large should these mattress |
| introduces to you the obvious point that | | | | recycling fees be? Government has a permitting |
| government needs to be involved in mattress | | | | and compliance cost, collecting and moving |
| recycling to make it work profitably. Government | | | | mattresses has a shipping and handling cost and |
| gives numerous tax incentives and tax exclusions | | | | manually breaking mattresses down into recycling |
| to non-profits which as the wonderful Ben Franklin | | | | components has a labor (Job creation) cost. The |
| taught us, "A penny saved, is a penny earned." | | | | mattress recycling fee should cover these costs |
| So, now you know that you have the opportunity | | | | and additional costs - while perhaps necessary - |
| in your community to get a non-profit organization | | | | should be evaluated and justified prior to being |
| involved in mattress recycling and it may well | | | | legislated into law. |
| solve your community's illegal mattress dumping | | | | Hope you learned that non-profit organizations are |
| problem. | | | | already successfully recycling mattresses and that |
| If government has to be involved in mattress | | | | with a reasonable fee structure for profit |
| recycling to make mattress recycling work by | | | | companies can also become sustainable |
| for-profit businesses, is there a government role | | | | enterprises doing mattress recycling just as tire |
| model to use that does not result in additional | | | | recycling has already done. |