If you’re living in California, Connecticut, or Rhode Island you may notice that there is a Mattress Recycling Fee added to your order, this fee is assessed by the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC).
The Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) is a non-profit organization formed by the bedding industry to operate the Bye Bye Mattress recycling programs in states that have enacted mattress recycling laws—California, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. This means the retailer, in this case, Essentia, collects a small fee at checkout for each mattress and foundation sold in any of these states. Then the fees are transferred to the state to fund their recycling program. We must by law collect these fees, the state is the one that approves the amount of each fee which is not set or controlled by us, the retailer.
Why was the Mattress Recycling Council formed?
The goal of the Mattress Recycling Council is to:
- Increase mattress recycling in order to reduce the impact of illegally dumped mattresses.
- Minimize recycling costs for consumers and the government.
- Educate consumers and other stakeholders about the mattress recycling process.
- Implement the Bye Bye Mattress recycling programs efficiently.
- Help develop market uses for recycled materials.
Why do you have to pay this fee even if you don’t plan on discarding a mattress now?
Even if you aren’t discarding a mattress right now, the idea is that a mattress doesn’t last forever and will eventually need to be discarded.
What are the benefits of mattress recycling?
- Conserves resources by making used steel, foam, and other materials available for use in new products.
- Reduces reliance on incinerators and landfills by diverting mattresses from the waste stream
- Reduces the number of illegally dumped mattresses
- Creates recycling jobs
The Mattress Recycling Council’s goal will be to get more states involved in the program to make a large environmental change.
Here at Essentia, we know that Mother Nature knows best!
That's why our natural memory foam and organic mattresses are made using materials that come from the earth, not a chemical plant. Did you know that since our products are sourced from the earth, and returned to it after it's been used? Yup, all Essentia mattresses are also biodegradable when exposed to the elements - wind, rain, sun - consistently over a three-year period. We recognize that most mattresses aren't like this, which is why we think the Mattress Recycling Council's initiative is great.
