Mattress Recycling

Valda,

The contacts I have are for the corrections Canada folks. The labour is not an issue for sustainability.

Cheers
Darlyne

Dear Valda

There is one project here in Scotland - SpringBack run by a community enterprise in Fife, two in America and one in Australia - all mentioned in a pull-out section of a paid-for journal called Warmer Bulletin. I found this out because FEAT Enterprises have recently teamed up with City of Edinburgh Council (Scotland) to recycle many of the mattresses delivered to the city waste transfer station. Present system recovers 90% but relies on employment subsidies. I typed in Mattress Recycling Fife SpringBack into a well-known search engine and found this [below] among 63 other references. Good hunting.

All the best,
David

"SpringBack Partner in Edinburgh Mattress Recycling"

FEAT Enterprises SpringBack project will partner with Edinburgh City council in a one-year mattress recycling project funded by the Strategic Waste Fund. The new project will start at 2 April 2007 at the council's waste transfer station at Powderhall. Approximately 15,600 mattresses a year are delivered to Powderhall, which means that in the region of 360 tonnes of waste could be recycled during the pilot project. Pauline Hinchion, Chief Executive of FEAT Enterprises said: "FEAT Enterprises is delighted to be working in partnership with The City of Edinburgh Council to divert mattresses from landfill. "Mattresses are a particularly difficult waste stream, which should not be landfilled. The City of Edinburgh Council recognises the environmental damage that landfilling of mattresses can do and are anxious, as we are, to make the pilot work successfully." Councillor Robert Cairns, the Executive Member for Environment and Streetscape, said: "I welcome this collaboration between SpringBack and the Council as a chance to help achieve the aims of the Waste Aware campaign by diverting waste from landfill." The total cost of the pilot project is 65,707. The Scottish Executive's Strategic Waste Fund grant accounts for 44,065, while the Council has contributed 16,610 from landfill tax and gate fee savings, along with 5,032 from FEAT Enterprises. FEAT Enterprises were awarded CRNS Member of the Year 2005, and aim to provide real job opportunities at a real wage for people who are disadvantaged in the labour market as a result of disabilities or other issues." See also www.sml.hw.ac.uk/socialenterprise/conference/Hinchion.ppt#262,1,Pauline_Hinchion

.... And from a media release on a March 2007 Conference: "Innovative Communities Offer More Than Recycling The benefits of recycling will be given a showcase at this years Community Recycling Network for Scotland (CRNS), More Than Recycling Conference and Awards, taking place Wednesday 14 March 2007 at Perth Concert Hall. The CRNS is the one-stop-shop for advice, information and support for community-based, not for profit organisations involved in recycling, reuse, composting and waste education activities. The More Than Recycling Conference and Awards will inform, educate and entertain delegates from a variety of sectors in the benefits of community recycling. [SNIP]

"CASE STUDY 1 - FEAT ENTERPRISES FEAT Enterprises 'SpringBack' is based in Fife and was initially set up in June 2005 to divert mattresses from landfill by deconstructing them into their component parts. SpringBack diverted 22,500 mattresses from landfill last year by working with local authorities in Falkirk, Clackmannanshire, Stirling and Fife, while providing employment to people facing disadvantage earning the company the CRNS Member of Year Award 2006. Nearly a year after winning the award, SpringBack has developed rapidly over the last year including doubling the number of customers contracting the service; starting a new wood recycling operation utilising wood found in bed bases to supply a large UK fuel distribution company with fire kindling and commissioning the design and manufacture of a new mattress deconstruction machine. Providing real job opportunities at a real wage to people facing disadvantage in the labour market is at the heart of FEAT Enterprises core values and over 30% of FEAT Enterprises employees are people with disabilities. In addition, SpringBack provides on the job training for 7 people a year via the New Deal programme." Closer in California perhaps try: www.svdp.us/mainsite/recycling/dr3.html DR3 Mattress Recycling Operation - This program diverts mattresses from dumps and transfer sites in the San Francisco Bay area and deconstructs them, diverting the cotton, poly foam, steel, wood and toppers for recycling. Over 5,000 pieces are diverted each month. The project returns less than 8% of the volume of goods derived from the beds back to the waste stream. In operation for four years, the project employs nine people at competitive wage levels with full health benefits, which, in the United States, is very important. The project became self-sufficient this year, and is anticipated to increase its diversion by 25% in 2004, virtually eliminating mattresses from the California Bay Area waste streams. Greg Conigliaro also seems to have a commercial operation in Massachusetts

www.conigliaro.com/downloads/TECHNICAL_PUB-Mattresses_and_Rebuilders.pdf