Members of the public can now take their old mattresses to their local recycling centres where they will be collected and used for a number of things, instead of piling them up and leaving them to decompose for many years in a landfill site. Old mattresses which are collected by the Council’s bulky waste collection service will also be recycled.
The aim of this new service is to improve the quality of the local environment by sending less waste to be buried in landfill sites, and by making new use of old mattresses.
Councillor Gareth Roberts, Gwynedd Council’s Environment Portfolio Leader, said:
“As a Council, we are committed to reducing the tons of waste that is sent to landfill sites, therefore the success of recycling and reusage schemes is key. This is a positive step towards reaching our targets.
“Currently 46% of everything we throw away is reused, recycled or composted. I am very pleased that this rate is higher than ever in Gwynedd and I thank local residents for their support. However, we are facing even higher targets set by the Welsh Government; by 2013 we must recycle 52% of waste, and 70% by 2025.”
The number of mattresses which are thrown away each year in Gwynedd is high and they take up a lot of space in landfill sites because their average weight is 21kg (single), 40kg (double) and 5kg (king). They also release gases as they decompose which can create environmental problems.
There are appropriate skips for the mattresses at all Gwynedd recycling centres. They are collected by a company to be recycled – a machine then separates the mattresses into five parts – the fabric, sponge, steel, spring and plastic. Most of these materials are then cleaned and reused for different things, such as, other fabric, carpets, car carpets, tins and paper clips.
For more information about any aspect of reducing waste, recycling or composting in Gwynedd, contact the Council on 01766 771000 or e-mail: [email protected]
Details about locations and opening times of the recycling centres and banks in Gwynedd are available on the website www.gwynedd.gov.uk/recycling
