World’s third-smallest country changes name from Nauru to Naoero
The article discusses the significant environmental challenge of mattress disposal in the U.S., where millions end up in landfills annually. It highlights that while most mattress materials are recyclable, a lack of specialized facilities leads to wasted space and equipment damage.
Why it matters
This highlights the hidden infrastructure and waste management costs associated with consumer goods and the limitations of current recycling systems.
A mattress recycling programme in United States has recovered about 650 million pounds of materials from more than 17 million discarded mattresses, according to Product Stewardship Institute (PSI).Around 50,000 mattresses are discarded every day in the US, adding up to nearly 18 million every year. Most end up in landfills, even though more than 80 per cent of the materials inside them can be recycled.A mattress is one of the largest items most households throw away. It contains steel, foam, wood, cotton and fibre, all of which have value if they are separated properly. However, because these materials are tightly packed together, recycling them requires specialised facilities that are not available in many places.As a result, most discarded mattresses are buried in landfills instead of being recycled.
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