Helping Save the Earth through Mattress Recycling
Why Recycle Mattresses?
Two of the greatest challenges in middle TN and across the nation are homelessness and solid waste landfills. Currently, homelessness is a felony in the state of TN. Statistics show that it costs over $30,000 a year to house one inmate. The same $30,000 will employ one of our staff with full health and retirement benefits for an entire year, all while recycling close to 3,000 mattresses.
Our program and mission provide solutions to both of these issues. Convert mattresses into reusable materials! We can prevent millions of unnecessary pounds of waste each year through mattress recycling.
- On average, we recycle roughly 50,000 mattresses per year, which is over 3 million cubic feet of landfill space.
- Mattresses range in size from 27 to 60 cubic feet and average 60 lbs.
- Mattresses decompose slowly in a landfill, often taking over a decade.
- If thrown in machinery, mattresses can destroy compacters due to the bulkiness and metal coils. We have developed a process that can truly benefit our community in multiple ways.
Who is Springback?
We are a self-sustaining nonprofit that combines environmental responsibility with social impact. By recycling mattresses and diverting millions of pounds from landfills, we create paid, skill-building jobs for men overcoming homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges – at no cost to taxpayers.
What is Our Goal?
Save space and create opportunity. 15,000,000 cubic feet of landfill space and over 40,000,000 pounds of recycled material volume are estimated to extend the life of a landfill by 20 years.
Drive flexible solutions. We take pride in being flexible with our approach to each institution. Customizable remedies & resources based on your needs.
Momentum is building change. We are committed to sustainability and easy avenues for recycling in each county, overcoming solid waste challenges everyday.
Why Mattresses?
Life Improvement
- Structure for personal & spiritual growth
- We teach vocational & life skills
- From homeless camps to transitional living
- Conversion to responsible, productive members of society
Residential Convenience
- Affordable, easy, and local drop-offs
- Curbside pickup options
- Cheaper solutions for disposal
- Community collection events
Environmental Footprint
- Americans dispose of 50,000 mattresses per day
- Remove bulky, non-biodegradable waste
- 95% of mattress materials re-used to new products
- Extending landfill life by decades
Community Impact
- Reduces illegal dumping & trashy streets
- Lowers disposal costs, freeing city budgets
- Save tax payer dollars
- Avenues for recycling popularity
Here’s What We’ve Learned
20%
of people won’t properly dispose of a mattress no matter what. They just don’t care. They would sooner illegally dump a mattress or toss it in the backyard and light it on fire, than recycle it or even set it out for the city to come pick it up.
60%
of people want an affordable, quick, and convenient option. These people will take a mattress to the nearest recycling center and pay a small fee. A seamless process.
20%
of people strongly believe recycling is very important. They will happily go out of their way and pay a fee to ensure their mattress is properly recycled and not dumped in a landfill.
Let's Join Hands
“Nobody was more skeptical than me, but truly worked out better than I would have imagined. There have been substantial environmental and economic benefits to recycling mattresses, especially when ladfill avoidance costs are taken into consideration.”
-Mac Nolen
Solid Waste Director of Williamson County
What We Do
When we first tore a mattress apart, we were surprised by the amount of foam, cotton, felt, wood, and metal that we found. After disassembly, Spring Back’s strength after disassembly is its ability to source each of these materials to their respective buyers, recycling nearly 100% of each mattress.
So, what happens to these materials? Each material is separated and baled appropriately as every mattress and box spring is deconstructed. Material buyers then repurpose the scrap, giving each mattress a new life.
- Our foam, cotton and felt are repurposed into items such as carpet padding.
- Our Steel is melted at a foundry and ultimately repurposed into new items.
- Our wood is sent to the chipper and repurposed into landscape mulch.
- Spring Back Recycling aims to prevent used mattresses from entering landfills and from recirculating in the secondary market, where they pose ongoing health risks.
- Our goal is to recycle every mattress in the state of TN first, which also creates good jobs for hundreds, potentially thousands of homeless men and women.
- By providing Solid employment, teaching them life and vocational skills, and paying them a living wage with full benefits we offer hope to the previously hopeless.
- We are truly a self-supported social enterprise benefiting all who live here.
