Connecticut’s mattress recycling program collected a record number of discarded mattresses and box springs in its latest fiscal year, according to an annual report filed with state regulators. The Mattress Recycling Council’s Bye Bye Mattress program collected 219,675 mattresses and foundations in the 12 months that ended June 30, about 7,000 more than the previous year and the most in its 11-year history. The industry-created nonprofit filed the report Oct. 15 with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Retailers drove the increase, sending 45,139 units to the program, nearly 30% more than a year earlier. The council said retailers that previously sold used mattresses to refurbishers are increasingly turning to recycling as demand for those products declines.
Towns remain the program’s largest source of mattresses. Residents in 157 of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities can drop off mattresses for free. But only 16 of the 48 towns that collect mattresses at the curb recycle them; the others dispose of them as trash, according to the report.