Mattress Recycling Council Joins America Recycles Day Events

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): As a leader in sustainability and recycling, the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) is participating in events leading up to America Recycles Day on Nov. 15 including the America Recycles Innovation Fair and Summit in Washington D.C. Open to the public, the Innovation Fair on Nov. 14 will feature MRC and other exhibitors dedicated to addressing the challenges facing our nation’s recycling system and protecting the environment. MRC recycles more than 1.5 million mattresses each year through its Bye Bye Mattress program in the states where mattress recycling laws have passed: California, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Each state’s program is funded by a recycling fee that is collected when a mattress or box spring is sold.

More than 80 percent of mattress components can be recycled by diverting valuable resources including foam, metal and wood from regional landfills. MRC supports this effort by investing in research to identify new end markets to increase recycling rates, improve the efficiency of used mattress collection and identify mattress dismantling and recycling best practices.

The Innovation Fair is hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in partnership with the Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries, Keep America Beautiful, the Recycling Partnership and the Solid Waste Association of North America. The free Innovation Fair is designed to connect investors with recycling innovators, helping to spur market development and adoption of new technologies to increase recycling rates as well as create new products comprised of post-recycled content.

At the America Recycles Summit on Nov. 15, MRC will join other invited representatives to highlight the successes and accomplishments of the last year and discuss what further actions are needed to advance the recycling system in the U.S.

MRC is also a signatory of the America Recycles Pledge, joining more than 150 other non-profit organizations, Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, recyclers and others committed to an ongoing dialogue and efforts to improve America’s recycling system.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantage.com