Mattresses have long been an issue in solid waste management; lack of recycling options and insufficient education on proper collection has led to many mattresses being illegally dumped or landfilled, where they take up significant space, up to one cubic yard each. In Washington alone, more than 1,000 mattresses are sent to landfill every day.1 Only a small fraction of mattresses are currently being recycled, even though they contain many readily recyclable materials such as metal, wood, fabric, and more. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) can serve as a solution to reduce the illegal dumping of mattresses and ensure that mattresses are properly managed at the end of life, leading to increased recycling, refurbishment, and reuse of used mattresses.
Programs
Oregon Mattress Stewardship
In 2022, Oregon passed SB 1576, to enact a mattress stewardship program requiring mattress manufacturers to operate a statewide mattress recycling program. The law aims to ensure mattresses are properly disposed of at their end of life, increasing recycling and reducing illegal dumping. The program is funded through a recycling fee (called a stewardship assessment) collected at the point of sale when purchasing a mattress. The program is run by the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) and overseen by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
Oregon’s Mattress Stewardship Program started on January 1, 2025. Oregonians can now drop off unwanted mattresses, regardless of its condition or age, at any dedicated collection site throughout the state free of charge.
- Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) – Mattress Recycling
- Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) – Oregon Landing Page
Resources
Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) – Mattresses
Bye Bye Mattress – Find a mattress recycler
About NWPSC
The Northwest Product Stewardship Council (NWPSC) is a coalition of government organizations in Washington and Oregon that work together to develop and improve Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies and programs
- The Department of Ecology’s 2021 Washington Statewide Waste Characterization Study estimated that 50,403 tons of mattresses were sent to landfill or incineration in Washington over a 12-month period. Waste characterizations are based on samples across the state, which results in uncertainty of tonnage estimates. There is 90% certainty that the actual number ranges between 2,085 tons and 98,721 tons. Assuming 55 pounds per mattress, an estimated 1.8 million mattresses are sent to landfill each year. The Mattress Recycling Council estimates that more than 50,000 mattresses are discarded in the U.S. every day. Based on these numbers, this corresponds to over 410,000 mattresses per year or over 1,000 mattresses discarded in Washington State every day. ↩︎