We took to the international stage once again this week as part of our Innovation Showcase webinar series, in partnership with UNTHA UK. We were joined by UNTHA’s director of global business development, Gary Moore, to talk all about ‘Single-step mattress recycling for 100% landfill diversion’.
End-of-life mattresses are a global waste problem, with a staggering 7million+ sent to landfill every year in the UK, and 1.8 million in Australia. Their bulky nature – which sees them too big to store and tricky to process – has created a large-scale recycling challenge for this waste stream. Until now!
In this 60-minute straight-talking session, Gary discussed the key innovations in mattress recycling, and shared the secret of how it’s possible to process over 200 mattresses per hour and even achieve a 100% material recovery rate.
UNTHA has caused quite a stir over in the UK when it comes to processing mattresses, and this session aimed to share our learnings and expertise to transform opportunities for operators handling mattresses in Australia too.
“The headaches associated with their size and make up, and the costs associated with this waste challenge mean that mattresses are often considered economically unshreddable – but this couldn’t be further from the truth!” said Gary.
Did you know?
- Over 80% of a mattress can be recycled into new consumer and industrial products
- 100% of a mattress can be recovered and diverted from landfill
- Investment in machinery engineered specifically to handle mattresses, means recycling can soon become a revenue generating operation
- The environment sector continues to grow, creating jobs at a time when many employment markets are in crisis.
Companies have long assumed that there is no quick fix to recycling this bulky waste but turning a blind eye to this issue cannot continue. With disposal costs mounting, landfill space depleting, and fly-tipping and illegal dumping on the rise, it’s time to take action!
In this 60-minute straight-talking virtual session, Gary covered:
- The scale of the mattress recycle challenge
- How to shred a mattress in under 30 seconds
- Designing a sophisticated mattress processing line for that 100% recovery rate
- The role of mattresses in the alternative fuel production sector
- Environmental benefits of smarter end of life mattress handling
If you missed the event and want to catch-up you can listen to the full recording here.