New Year, New you! From fitness routines to educational endeavors, travel plans, and diets – there’s something about a brand new year that gives us the energy of new possibilities – a blank page.
If the past few years leading up to 2023 have taught us anything it’s that at a very granular level, we have the ability to impact the current and future state of the world. Everyone knows the impact of recycling waste and even more so, the impact of NOT recycling. Each year, Americans make more than 200 million tons of waste – including bulkier items like furniture and mattresses. That’s enough to fill Fenway Park from top to bottom. Twice a day.
You likely know and have reaped the benefits of repurposing furniture – things like couches, dining room tables, dressers, etc (we love a good yard sale!) What you may not know is that old mattress that you’re trying to get rid of but can’t figure out HOW (because no one is buying a mattress at a yard sale…) can actually be offered a new lease on life in the same way as your old furniture, plastic bottles, paper trash, etc. More than 20 million tons of mattresses per year are thrown in the trash across the U.S. Thousands of mattresses are left to rot in landfills, where they often end up costing much more to trash – both financially and environmentally which is wild, because mattresses are made up mostly of recyclable materials! Recycling that bed of coils is a much better fit for the environment, for the economy, and for the municipal waste management systems. When done the right way, it can provide dozens of jobs for every 10,000 mattresses recycled. It’s a win-win!
But we know that the New Year, New You, won’t let your mattress land in a landfill (pun intended) and if you live in Massachusetts…well, now it legally can’t. As of November 1st – mattresses have been banned in Massachusetts landfills.
So let’s say you find yourself in the exciting position of shopping for a new mattress but now that you know all of the risks associated with dumping your old one in the trash, you’re wondering what to do next? Enter Tough Stuff Recycling….
We’re a high-tech mattress recycling company that believes in the power of community as a catalyst for global change. We apply adaptive reuse solutions that work with the environment vs against it in order to reuse and repurpose materials that once upon a time, filled landfills. TSR was launched by a team of experts who are passionate about giving materials new life and doing it in a way that compliments the environment instead of harming it. Less than a year ago, TSR consisted of only a handful of people, stationed in a tiny 15,000 sq foot space, renting a U-Haul truck to pick up our first 20 mattresses. We got to work showing the local municipalities how partnering with TSR can not only be a sustainable solution to an immediate need but also drive innovation and transformation within the recycling industry and the state’s waste management programs!
More on that in the next blog post.
Fast forward to 9 months later, and now we’re in a 45,000 sq foot space, with over 25 employees. Our dedicated team wakes up at 5 am each day to drive our 53 foot trucks and fill them with mattresses. No more little U-Hauls. We celebrated this incredible growth and our gratitude with a ribbon cutting ceremony and reception where our friends, partners, local officials, and full TSR team were in attendance. (If you’ve got FOMO you can catch a recording here and it’ll almost be like you were right there with us!)
Along with a new building, we have an entirely new recycling program in partnership with municipalities that not only allows you to drop off your old mattresses but enables us to come to YOU. Whether you’re an individual just looking to recycle your old mattress and box spring or a company that requires bulk services – our process is a simple one, allowing you to book services entirely online. In fact – your municipality may even offer subsidized recycling services through our program!
Our company is about so much more than just recycling mattresses, though. We love our local community and we are dedicated to making our local neighborhoods a more sustainable, clean place to live for everyone.
The point is, old mattress disposal doesn’t have to be complicated and it can be done in a sustainable way. Just book your appointment and leave us to do the tough stuff.
It’s time to shift our perspective on mattresses – and give them a second life! Reach out to talk more about our programs, ask any questions, or just chat about how we can work together to build a more sustainable community!
