How to recycle your mattress with Simba

Getting rid of old mattresses can be a logistical challenge. Not only are they big and bulky, mattresses that end up in landfill take on average more than 100 years to biodegrade. This adds to the already problematic relationship we have with waste, as well as being damaging for the environment.

However, I recently discovered there is good news. Leaders in innovative sleep technology, Simba, offer a state-of-the-art mattress recycling service with a trusted third partner. They take any mattress, any size – it doesn’t have to be a Simba one.

It’s all made really simple too. Once your order is placed, a collection date will be allocated to you within 5 days. If this date isn’t convenient, you can contact Simba or reschedule via the AO tracking email that you will have been sent.

In the first year of the service, Simba have already recycled 6,550 mattresses. This shows what a huge difference it can make to the numbers that are sent to landfill.

Passionate about sustainability

You might wonder why this matters to Simba, who sell new mattresses. Especially as you don’t need to buy from Simba to get your old mattress recycled. That’s right; you can choose it as a standalone service, for a small fee of £50. I think this is really good value for getting your mattress removed, and recycled. So you can feel happy you’ve done your bit for the environment.

This is what is driving Simba to offer this service too. They want to play their part in protecting the planet. The recycling service is just one part of their commitment, sitting alongside practices such as choosing responsibly produced and transparently sourced materials. Simba are also working towards halving their carbon emissions by developing new, responsible foam technologies.

Does it really matter?

The answer to this, is yes, it does matter! Here’s some facts to help put all this in perspective.

1. According to the National Bed Federation, only 24% of discarded mattresses were recycled in the UK last year.
2. The rate of ‘real’ recycling of those mattresses is estimated to be only 14%. ‘Real’ recycling means salvaging over 80% of the materials, not just a couple of springs.
3. This means as much as 76% of the mattresses we discard every year probably end up in landfill.
4. According to Simba’s recycling partner those mattresses equate to 167,000 tonnes of waste, the rough equivalent of 14,000 double decker buses.

What else should I know?

There are a few more useful pieces of information to know. Firstly, you’ll be sent a protective transit bag prior to your collection. You’ll need to put your mattress into this.

Secondly, as long as the mattress is clean and dry, it can be collected from any room in the house. Just make sure the access routes are clear – dust sheets to protect floors and carpets are fine.

So before you throw away your old mattress, take a look at recycling it with Simba. It’s easy, low cost and kind to the planet.