{"id":16003,"date":"2016-11-07T17:30:53","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T22:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wasteadvantagemag.com\/?p=16003"},"modified":"2016-11-07T17:30:53","modified_gmt":"2016-11-07T22:30:53","slug":"mattress-recycling-councils-bye-bye-mattress-program-diverts-150000-mattresses-from-connecticuts-landfills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wasteadvantagemag.com\/mattress-recycling-councils-bye-bye-mattress-program-diverts-150000-mattresses-from-connecticuts-landfills\/","title":{"rendered":"Mattress Recycling Council’s Bye Bye Mattress Program Diverts 150,000 Mattresses From Connecticut’s Landfills"},"content":{"rendered":"
Last week, the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) presented its inaugural\u00a0Annual Report of the Connecticut Bye Bye Mattress Program\u00a0to Connecticut municipal leaders and state regulators. The report summarized the Program\u2019s performance from its inception in May 2015 through the end of the state\u2019s 2016 fiscal year (June 30).<\/p>\n
The Program has already exceeded, met or is on pace to achieve nearly all benchmarks set in its plan, which was approved by the state in 2014. Highlights of the Program\u2019s initial success in Connecticut include:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are pleased with the Program\u2019s productive start and will continue to work with city leaders, businesses and the state to improve the Program, expand the number of communities served, and increase the volume of mattresses recycled,\u201d said Ryan Trainer, President of MRC and the International Sleep Products Association.<\/p>\n
Industry-led recycling programs like Bye Bye Mattress will play an important part in helping Connecticut reach its goal to divert 60 percent of materials from disposal by 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe applaud the mattress industry for developing a successful statewide program under the mattress stewardship law that has already recycled thousands of mattresses in an environmentally sound manner,\u201d said Robert Klee, Commissioner of Connecticut\u2019s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. \u201cThis program has created jobs, recovered vast quantities of resources to be reused, saved municipalities $1.5 million in disposal costs and given residents an easy way to recycle a cumbersome item.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bye Bye Mattress allows Connecticut residents to drop-off used mattresses at participating collection sites, collection events and recycling facilities free of charge. This collection network is made possible by the $9 recycling fee that Connecticut consumers pay when they buy a new mattress or box spring. The fee provides for collection containers, transporting the discarded mattresses and recycling costs. Connecticut residents can find their nearest participating collection site, collection event or recycling facility at\u00a0http:\/\/www.ByeByeMattress.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n MRC is also working with more than 130 other public and private entities, including mattress retailers, hotels, military bases, universities and healthcare facilities in Connecticut to divert their discarded mattresses from the solid waste stream.<\/p>\n