Recycling Numbers To Know 💡
975: The number of units recycled by the Town of Winchester since the Massachusetts landfill ban went into effect in November 2022.
19: The number of aggregate pickups the Town of Winchester has completed with Tough Stuff Recycling.
32,175: The number of cubic feet of saved landfill space as a result of the Town of Winchester recycling mattresses.
Fun Facts About Mattress Recycling ♻️
75% – 80%: the percentage of a mattress that is recyclable. That means when you recycle, less space is taken up in landfills, and more materials are being recycled into new products!
50%: The percentage breakdown of metal in the mattress recycling process, or the equivalent of 25 – 40 lbs of steel!
The foam and other materials in your mattress have a second life in carpet manufacturing. If you ever have a chance, take a look at the padding that is hidden below your carpet, that patchwork is made up of hundreds of thousands of recycled mattresses!
Tough Stuff Recycling believes wholeheartedly in recycling and waste diversion, but more importantly, we love to hear feedback from our community. We decided to ask our Municipal customers what they thought of Tough Stuff Recycling and how our partnership helped them learn more about overcoming the challenges of the statewide mattress landfill ban.
“Thanks, Tough Stuff, for showing up and getting the job done!”
An Interview With The Town of Winchester
Q: How and when did you learn about the mattress landfill ban?
A: “We had heard of the mattress waste ban from our DEP municipal coordinator and various webinars leading up to the waste ban.”
Q: What was the most immediate challenge you faced when you heard your hauler was going to no longer accept mattresses?
A: “We are a drop-off operation, so I think we had an easier time than some towns. Our biggest hurdle was getting adequate storage for the waste mattresses.”
Q: How did you learn about Tough Stuff Recycling?
A: “We learned about TSR because they were a state-approved vendor. We were referred to them by a competitor who did not have the capacity for the volume of mattresses we produced.”
Q: What led you to start working with us to recycle your mattresses?
A: “Our previous mattress recycler couldn’t work within the working hours of our facility and was having trouble with the volume of mattresses we produced. We also found the milk-run model used by TSR worked out better for our facility than other methods of collection we had used before.”
Q: What are the benefits of mattress recycling in or for your municipality?
A: “We have noticed a pretty significant drop in our waste tonnage, which lowers one of our largest expenses.”
Q: If you could take anything positive out of the Massachusetts mattress landfill ban, what would that be?
A: “Before the mattress recycling ban, we were “fairweather” mattress recyclers. That means we would save the cleanest 10% of mattresses. Now, we are recycling close to 100% of all mattresses.”
Q: If you can take anything positive out of the Massachusetts Mattress Landfill ban what would that be?
A: “I think the best thing that came out of the mattress ban is the ramp-up in mattress recycling infrastructure in Massachusetts. This infrastructure is a blueprint for how other unconventional materials might be waste-banned and recycled.”
Kind Words
“Thanks, Tough Stuff Recycling, for showing up and getting the job done!”
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To learn more about how we work together with local municipalities, contact us today!
