Jachim Thompson and Andre Williams accept a mattress from Pete Romsky, left, during the free collection program, The Mattress Recycling Council’s Connecticut “Bye Bye Mattress Program ” in 2017 at the Norwalk Public Works Center.

We’ve recycled more than a million mattresses and box springs in Connecticut

Waste management is front and center for many Connecticut municipalities these days. As options for trash disposal change, elected officials and residents must make decisions on how to dispose of their materials in a fiscally sensible and environmentally sound way.

Earth Day 2022 — April 22 — is a great time to learn about being more responsible with your waste. Next time you need to get rid of something, see if it can be recycled. For some items that cannot be put in the recycling bin, there are industry-led recycling programs that can help with the disposal.

Here’s an example: the Mattress Recycling Council has operated the Bye Bye Mattress program in Connecticut for six years. In that time, it has recycled more than 1 million mattresses and box springs, diverting over 18,000 tons of steel, foam, fiber and wood from the waste stream. If those mattresses were stacked on top of one another, they would tower 170 miles, nearly reaching the International Space Station! In addition to keeping valuable materials out of landfills or from being burned at incinerators, communities are also experiencing less illegal dumping.

MRC’s Bye Bye Mattress program allows residents to drop off old mattresses and box springs at no cost at participating locations. Currently, Connecticut residents in more than 140 towns have access through their local transfer station. In addition, any state resident can drop off mattresses at Park City Green in Bridgeport or the Salvation Army locations in Hartford and Newington. The program also works with several municipalities to recycle the mattresses collected during curbside bulky item pickup or waste and recycling collection events.

Once the mattresses arrive at a recycling facility, they are cut open and the layers of material are separated and prepared for sale. Major uses for the reclaimed material include carpet padding, insulation, filters and new steel products.

You can learn more about mattress recycling and find your nearest drop-off location at www.ByeByeMattress.com and check out www.RecycleCT.com to see what else can be recycled in Connecticut. Make this Earth Day a particularly meaningful one.

And remember, “waste” is not just a noun, it’s also a verb. There is really no such thing as waste, just resources being wasted.

Dan McGowan is Northeast program coordinator for the Mattress Recycling Council.