February 28, 2025 • 12 mins
We spoke with Program Manager Dan McGowan about the benefits of recycling mattresses in the state.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is Dan McGowan, program manager of the Northeast
Mattress Recycling Council. So, for people who don't know about
the Mattress Recycling Council, how did it come about? How
was it created?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
So you know, about ten years ago the program got
started and it really was a response to rising disposal
clause really similar to what we have now in the state.
The Hartford Lantel was closing. The cost of mattress disposal
was rising. A lot of the landfills and waste of
energy plant that the state uses for trash disposal, we're
(00:37):
charging surcharges for mattress disposal. And then you know, we
had some really good legislative and environmental champions in the
state that recognized that mattresses and box springs are really
recyclable product. And so I'm very proud to say as
a Connecticut resident that Connecticut was the very first state
to pass legislation that said we need to recycle mattresses,
(01:00):
and through that, the Mattress Recycling Council and the by
by Mattress program were started. And we're just about at
ten years now. You know, May first will be our
ten year anniversary, and it's been a really great program.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
It's the tenth anniversary. How does the law come about?
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Well, so Pat Wooletz was the champion legislator at the time,
and she was working with a number of other you know,
legislative champions and recycling champions, and she and their team
passed the law that said the model of producer Stewardship
and Responsibility that says, you know, if you make a
mattress or any product, you know you're responsible for its
(01:39):
end of life. And so kind of took the burden
away from all the municipalities and recycling coordinators and put
it onto the mattress producers, and the mattress producers through
that created this Mattress Recycling Council and set up this
entire program that we're now on our tenth year of running,
and it's had some really positive success. You know, we've
(02:00):
recycled one point seven million mattresses so far in those
ten years, just here in the state of Connecticut. You know,
really proud. We have an extensive network collection collection network
to gather these mattresses and recycle them.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Walk me through how someone would get rid of their
mattress they no longer want, are their specific drop off
locations or curb side pickup available.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
The extensive collection network that I was just alluding to
is quite extensive. Main way we operate is to have
a container right there at the town transfer station. We
currently work with one hundred and fifty seven of one
hundred and sixty nine communities here in the state and
offering some level of container or event or curbside collection
(02:49):
for those residents. So, you know, a resident who may
or may not even know about the program, goes to
their local transfer station to dispose of their mattress and
box spring and right there as our container, you know,
provided no cost municipality for that recycling of those mattresses
and box springs. And so that's the main way that
we connected with residents is just to you know, work
(03:12):
with them right there where they're existing waste infrastructure and
pull those mattresses and segregate them and get them recycled
versus going further into the waste stream. But we also
work with many of the retailers in the States. So
when you buy a new mattress and they come to
deliver that and take away your old one, you know,
we work with those retailers to get those mattresses recycled
(03:34):
as well. And we also have a robust what we
call our Commercial Volume Program, our CVP program that works
with the rest of the of the state, you know,
the hotels, the universities, the hospitals, the nursing homes, you know,
et cetera, to make sure that when they need to
recycle a mattress, we're there to provide that service and
(03:55):
get those matches recycled again at no cost at the
time of disposal.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
That's amazing. If you're listening, just go to buy buy
mattress dot com for more information. As we have this interview,
So you said they're recycled, what does that mean exactly?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
So once those matches are collected, we have two recyclers
currently in the state that are actually located here in
the state that work with us to do that actual
recycling work. One is located in Bridgeport and the other
in Willemantic, And so the mattresses arrive at those facilities
(04:32):
and from there they're they're unloaded and actually just deconstructed
and broken down into their considering components. Uh, you know,
mainly steel foam. Would you know other textiles, and there's
a number of products that are there that will you know,
they'll completely dismantle the beds, you know, segregate those materials,
(04:55):
bail them, and then send them off to make new products.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Wow. And yeah, that's great. So this helps keep the
mattresses out of landfills.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah, mattresses. Mattresses and landfills don't go well together. They
take up a lot of space and you know, landfill space,
and no one wants landfills. They just sit there and
rot in the ground. You know, these things take up space,
and a mattress in box spring are more than seventy
five percent recyclable, and so all that material that you
(05:31):
know would be just you know, filling a landfill and
taking the space for for materials that maybe do need
to get land filled. You know, we're able to take
that out and recycle. I mean, on an annual basis,
we recycle over seven million pounds of material here in Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Wow. And has that saved money for the towns by
recycling the mattresses.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Absolutely? Absolutely? Yeah. The I mean I think that's one
of my favorite pieces of the program, you know, aside
from just the the you know, the great recycling. Is
that the program is available at no cost to municipalities.
You know, I came from a municipal background here in
the state, running a transfer station and and towns, uh,
(06:16):
you know, trash and recycling programs and and it's not
an expensive endeavor and and cost taxpayer money. And now
you know, through this program, we're able to put these
containers on the at the transfer stations, you know, provide
the transportation, provide the recycling, all at no cost and
(06:37):
therefore saving uh, those municipalities, you know, that funding that
they used to have to spend themselves. Uh, you know,
with the Connecticut d EP. We recently just did a
you know, quick quick math on on annual savings to
the Connectic municipalities and came up with over three and
(06:57):
a quarter million dollars saved any for connecting the municipalities
just through this program.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Wow, that's amazing. So basically, people just need to get
the mattress out of the house, whether it's on their
curve side, or bring it to that station you you
were referring to.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, and you know, I thank you for mentioning the
buy by mattress dot Com website earlier, you know, on
that website is a locator tool that you could type
in your address and it will point you to you know,
the local spot that you could bring that or or
direct you to me. And so yeah, you know though
(07:35):
through that you could look up your specific information or
just you know, contact your recycling coordinator in your town
and they could provide you with with that information. But yeah, exactly,
just you know, get us the mattress and we'll do
the rest.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Now, how does the program address issues like illegal dumping
or improper disposal of mattresses?
Speaker 2 (07:56):
You know, as I mentioned before, the the you know,
one of the impetuses of the law and the program
was rising costs of matters disposal. And you know, at
some point when the cost of doing something becomes too high,
you know, unfortunately you know gets this you know world
(08:18):
of how do I do cost avoidance there? And and
you know one of those might be illegal dumping. And
so by setting up this program, by offering no cost
disposal of your mattresses and box springs, we've completely eliminated
that piece of it. So there's no good reason to
illegally dump your mattress because you can recycle it for free.
(08:41):
And so we've really been able to cut back on
any illegal dumping in the state because you know, there's
there's no good reason to do it.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Do you think that some people don't even know it's illegal?
Like I drive by, I see mattresses in front of
their homes. I think some just don't know what to
do about it. Maybe they think the guard ridge man
is going to take it with them.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
And that's entirely possible. And we do work with some
municipalities to that offer curbside pickup of their mattresses and
they segregate those and bring them to us and we
recycle them. So it's entirely possible that you're you know,
like the City of Hartford offers that service, and so
you know, those mattresses might be getting recycled, you know,
(09:25):
on a case by case spaces. I can't entirely.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Say for sure, right, I just feel like when you
know better, you do better. I think sometimes people just
don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
And you know why, I'm so happy to be here
talking with you today to you know, let people know
that this program exists. There is no cost, you know,
just you know, go to the Buy by Mattress website,
contact me or your local coordinator and I'm sure there's
an easy solution, you know, very close to your house
to recycle these things.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
In the meantime, are their efforts to expand mattress or programs.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Yes, so, I mean the program we're talking about today
is Connecticut specific. It's it's you know specifically for Connecticut
residents and businesses, and and you paid for it by
Connectic and consumers. But we also exist in Rhode Islands.
There are there's legislation pending now in states like Massachusetts
(10:22):
and New York you know named some local ones and
and you know others as well throughout the state, throughout
the country, and our government fairs team is you know,
working with those states to get these programs operating operating there.
So yeah, absolutely, we're we're we're you know very much
(10:43):
looking forward to into expanding this throughout the country and
putting out my my non master recycling you know it.
Recycling in general is just a really great thing. I mean,
it has lots of great environmental you know positives. You know,
you're not extracting raw materials and going through that process,
(11:03):
you're giving things a second hive. And so whenever you
have that opportunity to reduce and reuse and recycle. You know,
you should do that with your product. And like I said,
this is a program that is saving municipalities and recycling
typically saves municipality. It's a lots of money, it creates
Connecticut jobs. We have these Connecticut recyclers that are that
(11:26):
are working with us, and these programs are just really fantastic,
you know, for everybody involved and the planet.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
So recycle your mattress. You're going to save the state money,
we won't pollute landfills, we'll get to recycle it. It's
great for everyone. Go to buy buy maattress dot com.
I'm speaking with Dan McGowan. He is program manager of
the Northeast Mattress Recycling Council. Thank you so much for
being here today and explaining to us about mattress recycling.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Thank you so much, Alison, it's been my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
And again, go to buy buy mattress dot com.
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is Dan McGowan, program manager of the Northeast
Mattress Recycling Council. So, for people who don't know about
the Mattress Recycling Council, how did it come about? How
was it created?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
So you know, about ten years ago the program got
started and it really was a response to rising disposal
clause really similar to what we have now in the state.
The Hartford Lantel was closing. The cost of mattress disposal
was rising. A lot of the landfills and waste of
energy plant that the state uses for trash disposal, we're
(00:37):
charging surcharges for mattress disposal. And then you know, we
had some really good legislative and environmental champions in the
state that recognized that mattresses and box springs are really
recyclable product. And so I'm very proud to say as
a Connecticut resident that Connecticut was the very first state
to pass legislation that said we need to recycle mattresses,
(01:00):
and through that, the Mattress Recycling Council and the by
by Mattress program were started. And we're just about at
ten years now. You know, May first will be our
ten year anniversary, and it's been a really great program.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
It's the tenth anniversary. How does the law come about?
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Well, so Pat Wooletz was the champion legislator at the time,
and she was working with a number of other you know,
legislative champions and recycling champions, and she and their team
passed the law that said the model of producer Stewardship
and Responsibility that says, you know, if you make a
mattress or any product, you know you're responsible for its
(01:39):
end of life. And so kind of took the burden
away from all the municipalities and recycling coordinators and put
it onto the mattress producers, and the mattress producers through
that created this Mattress Recycling Council and set up this
entire program that we're now on our tenth year of running,
and it's had some really positive success. You know, we've
(02:00):
recycled one point seven million mattresses so far in those
ten years, just here in the state of Connecticut. You know,
really proud. We have an extensive network collection collection network
to gather these mattresses and recycle them.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Walk me through how someone would get rid of their
mattress they no longer want, are their specific drop off
locations or curb side pickup available.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
The extensive collection network that I was just alluding to
is quite extensive. Main way we operate is to have
a container right there at the town transfer station. We
currently work with one hundred and fifty seven of one
hundred and sixty nine communities here in the state and
offering some level of container or event or curbside collection
(02:49):
for those residents. So, you know, a resident who may
or may not even know about the program, goes to
their local transfer station to dispose of their mattress and
box spring and right there as our container, you know,
provided no cost municipality for that recycling of those mattresses
and box springs. And so that's the main way that
we connected with residents is just to you know, work
(03:12):
with them right there where they're existing waste infrastructure and
pull those mattresses and segregate them and get them recycled
versus going further into the waste stream. But we also
work with many of the retailers in the States. So
when you buy a new mattress and they come to
deliver that and take away your old one, you know,
we work with those retailers to get those mattresses recycled
(03:34):
as well. And we also have a robust what we
call our Commercial Volume Program, our CVP program that works
with the rest of the of the state, you know,
the hotels, the universities, the hospitals, the nursing homes, you know,
et cetera, to make sure that when they need to
recycle a mattress, we're there to provide that service and
(03:55):
get those matches recycled again at no cost at the
time of disposal.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
That's amazing. If you're listening, just go to buy buy
mattress dot com for more information. As we have this interview,
So you said they're recycled, what does that mean exactly?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
So once those matches are collected, we have two recyclers
currently in the state that are actually located here in
the state that work with us to do that actual
recycling work. One is located in Bridgeport and the other
in Willemantic, And so the mattresses arrive at those facilities
(04:32):
and from there they're they're unloaded and actually just deconstructed
and broken down into their considering components. Uh, you know,
mainly steel foam. Would you know other textiles, and there's
a number of products that are there that will you know,
they'll completely dismantle the beds, you know, segregate those materials,
(04:55):
bail them, and then send them off to make new products.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Wow. And yeah, that's great. So this helps keep the
mattresses out of landfills.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah, mattresses. Mattresses and landfills don't go well together. They
take up a lot of space and you know, landfill space,
and no one wants landfills. They just sit there and
rot in the ground. You know, these things take up space,
and a mattress in box spring are more than seventy
five percent recyclable, and so all that material that you
(05:31):
know would be just you know, filling a landfill and
taking the space for for materials that maybe do need
to get land filled. You know, we're able to take
that out and recycle. I mean, on an annual basis,
we recycle over seven million pounds of material here in Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Wow. And has that saved money for the towns by
recycling the mattresses.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Absolutely? Absolutely? Yeah. The I mean I think that's one
of my favorite pieces of the program, you know, aside
from just the the you know, the great recycling. Is
that the program is available at no cost to municipalities.
You know, I came from a municipal background here in
the state, running a transfer station and and towns, uh,
(06:16):
you know, trash and recycling programs and and it's not
an expensive endeavor and and cost taxpayer money. And now
you know, through this program, we're able to put these
containers on the at the transfer stations, you know, provide
the transportation, provide the recycling, all at no cost and
(06:37):
therefore saving uh, those municipalities, you know, that funding that
they used to have to spend themselves. Uh, you know,
with the Connecticut d EP. We recently just did a
you know, quick quick math on on annual savings to
the Connectic municipalities and came up with over three and
(06:57):
a quarter million dollars saved any for connecting the municipalities
just through this program.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Wow, that's amazing. So basically, people just need to get
the mattress out of the house, whether it's on their
curve side, or bring it to that station you you
were referring to.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, and you know, I thank you for mentioning the
buy by mattress dot Com website earlier, you know, on
that website is a locator tool that you could type
in your address and it will point you to you know,
the local spot that you could bring that or or
direct you to me. And so yeah, you know though
(07:35):
through that you could look up your specific information or
just you know, contact your recycling coordinator in your town
and they could provide you with with that information. But yeah, exactly,
just you know, get us the mattress and we'll do
the rest.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Now, how does the program address issues like illegal dumping
or improper disposal of mattresses?
Speaker 2 (07:56):
You know, as I mentioned before, the the you know,
one of the impetuses of the law and the program
was rising costs of matters disposal. And you know, at
some point when the cost of doing something becomes too high,
you know, unfortunately you know gets this you know world
(08:18):
of how do I do cost avoidance there? And and
you know one of those might be illegal dumping. And
so by setting up this program, by offering no cost
disposal of your mattresses and box springs, we've completely eliminated
that piece of it. So there's no good reason to
illegally dump your mattress because you can recycle it for free.
(08:41):
And so we've really been able to cut back on
any illegal dumping in the state because you know, there's
there's no good reason to do it.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Do you think that some people don't even know it's illegal?
Like I drive by, I see mattresses in front of
their homes. I think some just don't know what to
do about it. Maybe they think the guard ridge man
is going to take it with them.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
And that's entirely possible. And we do work with some
municipalities to that offer curbside pickup of their mattresses and
they segregate those and bring them to us and we
recycle them. So it's entirely possible that you're you know,
like the City of Hartford offers that service, and so
you know, those mattresses might be getting recycled, you know,
(09:25):
on a case by case spaces. I can't entirely.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Say for sure, right, I just feel like when you
know better, you do better. I think sometimes people just
don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
And you know why, I'm so happy to be here
talking with you today to you know, let people know
that this program exists. There is no cost, you know,
just you know, go to the Buy by Mattress website,
contact me or your local coordinator and I'm sure there's
an easy solution, you know, very close to your house
to recycle these things.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
In the meantime, are their efforts to expand mattress or programs.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Yes, so, I mean the program we're talking about today
is Connecticut specific. It's it's you know specifically for Connecticut
residents and businesses, and and you paid for it by
Connectic and consumers. But we also exist in Rhode Islands.
There are there's legislation pending now in states like Massachusetts
(10:22):
and New York you know named some local ones and
and you know others as well throughout the state, throughout
the country, and our government fairs team is you know,
working with those states to get these programs operating operating there.
So yeah, absolutely, we're we're we're you know very much
(10:43):
looking forward to into expanding this throughout the country and
putting out my my non master recycling you know it.
Recycling in general is just a really great thing. I mean,
it has lots of great environmental you know positives. You know,
you're not extracting raw materials and going through that process,
(11:03):
you're giving things a second hive. And so whenever you
have that opportunity to reduce and reuse and recycle. You know,
you should do that with your product. And like I said,
this is a program that is saving municipalities and recycling
typically saves municipality. It's a lots of money, it creates
Connecticut jobs. We have these Connecticut recyclers that are that
(11:26):
are working with us, and these programs are just really fantastic,
you know, for everybody involved and the planet.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
So recycle your mattress. You're going to save the state money,
we won't pollute landfills, we'll get to recycle it. It's
great for everyone. Go to buy buy maattress dot com.
I'm speaking with Dan McGowan. He is program manager of
the Northeast Mattress Recycling Council. Thank you so much for
being here today and explaining to us about mattress recycling.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Thank you so much, Alison, it's been my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
And again, go to buy buy mattress dot com.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!