Mattress Recycling Trial
Who is recycling mattresses and where?
Lockyer Valley Regional Council have partnered with Ability Enterprises which is a not-for-profit, social enterprise providing meaningful employment opportunities to marginalised individuals living in regional Queensland.
Every mattress that is brought to the Laidley Transfer Station will be manually deconstructed to remove recoverable items such as metal and foam.
Since 2012, Ability Enterprises has worked alongside more than 320 people facing barriers to employment.
Residents are urged to bring their mattresses to the Laidley Transfer Station so we can reduce the amount of mattresses being sent to landfill. Normal fees and charges apply for mattress disposal as a third-party organisation is paid to provide the deconstruction service.
Why should I recycle my mattress?
Even though most components of a mattress can be recycled, they are one of the most common items sent to landfill. Each year in Australia around 1.6 to 1.8 million mattresses are sent to landfill and each mattress takes up 0.75 cubic metres of space in landfill. The Gatton landfill is reaching capacity, so by recycling old mattresses, these large waste items can be diverted from landfill and their components, such as foam and springs, can be recycled into a number of new products.
How should I stack my mattress at the Laidley Transfer Station?
The shed at Laidley will store mattress each week for Ability Enterprises staff. Council asks that residents stack mattresses in an upright manner to assist with the manual handling of mattresses for deconstruction.