Mattresses taken to the Tamala Park transfer station are recycled.
Camera IconMattresses taken to the Tamala Park transfer station are recycled. Credit: Supplied/Bruce Hunt

Project bedded down

Lucy Jarvis, North Coast TimesNorth Coast Times

Mindarie Regional Council sustainability and waste education manager Geoff Atkinson said they had already collected more than 200 tonnes of mattresses off the landfill since they started a diversion program last November.

‘About three bins (each containing between 50 and 60 mattresses) are taken off the landfill (largely from bulk verge collections) to every one bin filled with mattresses dropped off by residents at our transfer station,’ Mr Atkinson said.

‘Mattresses vary in size and weight (so) taking a conservative view, this is over 10,000 mattresses in this six month period.’

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Mr Atkinson said MRC sent all the mattresses off-site to be recycled and they did charge residents who dropped them off at the transfer station because it cost the waste council to recycle them.

MRC started the program to retrieve mattresses from landfill last year after it moved tipping to the third hole, because mattresses took up space and bounced back after being compacted.

Last month, Environment Minister Albert Jacob called for expressions of interest from organisations to increase the amount of mattresses recycled.

‘With an average mattress length of two metres, if all the mattresses we throw away were lined up each year they would stretch 300km, or from Perth to Manjimup ” it’s enough to fill 44 Olympic swimming pools,’ Mr Jacob said.

‘Mattresses have an enormous amount of material that can be recovered and recycled such as metal, timber and foam.’