MattressNextDay has reached a major milestone after recycling its 100,000th mattress through its nationwide recycling scheme.
Launched in 2015, the service allows customers to have their old mattress collected when a new one is delivered. More than a decade on, 41% of MattressNextDay customers now choose to recycle their old mattress, helping divert an estimated 4,000 tonnes of bulky waste from landfill.
The achievement comes as the UK continues to face a growing mattress waste challenge. According to the National Bed Federation (NBF), around 4.75 million mattresses are discarded across the UK every year, enough to fill Wembley Stadium twice and cover an area almost four times the size of the City of London.
Available for £39 alongside every new mattress purchase, the MattressNextDay mattress disposal and recycling scheme offers customers a straightforward alternative to arranging disposal themselves. According to NBF data, mattress collections through local authorities can cost up to £76.30, making MattressNextDay's service a more affordable option in many parts of the UK.
Since launching the scheme, MattressNextDay has prevented 100,000 mattresses from being sent to landfill. Every mattress collected is diverted, with more than 93% of materials recovered for recycling, says the retailer.
Every mattress collected through the MattressNextDay recycling scheme is transported to recycling partner Matt UK, where it is deconstructed by hand. Although hand deconstruction takes longer than mechanical shredding, it allows a greater quantity and quality of material to be recovered. Depending on the mattress, up to 17 different materials can be separated and given a second life.
Steel springs are returned to steel manufacturing, while PU foam and polyester fillings are reprocessed into products including home insulation and automotive components. Cotton, wool and woven padding are reused within the textile and carpet industries. Natural fibres such as horsehair and coconut fibre are recovered wherever possible and used for biomass where no commercial recycling market yet exists.
Mattresses that remain in good condition are donated to registered charities before recycling is considered. Overall, more than 93% of each mattress is recovered for recycling. The remaining material, where contamination prevents recycling, is used as refuse-derived fuel for energy recovery.
“Buying a new mattress shouldn’t create a waste problem," says Martin Seeley, CEO at MattressNextDay. "When someone buys a new mattress, the last thing they want is the headache of figuring out how to dispose of the old one responsibly.
“That's exactly why we launched our recycling scheme just over a decade ago. We wanted to remove that barrier and make doing the right thing the easiest option.
“Seeing 100,000 mattresses come through the scheme tells us we've achieved something much bigger than a number. It shows that when recycling is simple, affordable and built into the buying process, people genuinely want to make more sustainable choices.
“Earlier this year we introduced our Lowest Price Promise because we believe customers shouldn't have to choose between getting a great deal and receiving great service. Together with our recycling scheme, it's all part of making buying a new mattress as straightforward as possible from start to finish.
“Reaching 100,000 recycled mattresses is a milestone we're incredibly proud of, but our focus hasn't changed. We'll keep investing in services that make life easier for our customers while helping more mattresses stay out of landfill."
The recycling milestone follows another major customer initiative from MattressNextDay. Earlier this year, the retailer introduced its Lowest Price Promise, guaranteeing customers competitive prices against a range of authorised UK mattress retailers. Together, the initiatives reflect MattressNextDay's commitment to making buying a new mattress both better value and more sustainable, the retailer concludes.
