Contact:
Bob Wall/Sustainable Fairfield Task Force
(203) 581-0006

SAFEGUARDING CONNECTICUT’S ENVIRONMENT, ONE MATTRESS AT A TIME

Residents Can Drop Off Old Mattresses, Box Springs for Recycling At Town-Wide Collection Event on Saturday, May 6 


Fairfield, CT, April 25, 2023 -- Old mattresses and box springs can be readily recycled into many useful other products – but unfortunately in the U.S. more than 50,000 mattresses are simply consigned to the trash every day.

If you’re thinking of discarding a worn-out mattress or box spring, you can instead bring it to a free, Town-wide mattress collection event to be held on Saturday, May 6, from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm at Veterans Park, 909 Reef Road. The Sustainable Fairfield Task Force (SFTF) is sponsoring the event with the Bye Bye Mattress program of the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), a nonprofit organization that operates recycling programs in states with mattress recycling laws, currently including Connecticut, California, Rhode Island and Oregon. The MRC uses a recycling fee collected on each mattress and box spring sold in those states to support its programs.

Any mattress, no matter when it was purchased, can be brought to the event for no-cost recycling, if it is not damaged, heavily soiled or posing other health or safety risks.

Recycling Mattresses Helps the Environment, Saves Fairfield Money

According to the MRC, 1.5 million mattresses have been collected in Connecticut since 2015, with 24,000 tons of material recycled. ”Recycling means less reliance on incinerators and landfills by diverting mattresses from the waste stream,” said Bob Wall, SFTF chairman. ”Water and energy are saved, and greenhouses gases are reduced, when an old mattress’ steel, foam, wood and other materials are used to create new products.  

“In addition to all the environmental benefits, mattress recycling helps support jobs in recycling industries and saves the Town money by reducing the fees on the waste that we ship off for incineration,” he said.

Residents will have another chance to recycle a mattress at the SFTF’s next recycling event on Saturday, Oct. 14 from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, also at Veterans Park, 909 Reef Road. You can learn more about other mattress recycling opportunities in Connecticut by visiting the Bye Bye Mattress website.

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About the SFTF:  The SFTF provides support for Town practices and projects that can help Fairfield manage its growth to safeguard the health of its environment, ensure the reliability and economical use of its natural resources, and preserve the quality of life of its residents – today and for the future.  For more information, please visit Sustainable Fairfield.org