Keeping waste out of landfill

and creating jobs for people who need them most

Why is recycling your mattress so important?

An incredible 1.8 million mattresses are thrown away each year in Australia, stretching from Darwin to the tip of Tasmania when laid end-to-end.

740,000 of these mattresses are sent to landfill, taking up huge amounts of limited landfill space and contributing significantly to environmental pollution. Meanwhile, the valuable resources contained within them – like steel and foam – are wasted.

Recycling all of Australia’s old mattresses instead of sending them to landfill is the solution.

Why choose Soft Landing?

Our manual dismantling method prioritises ethical, social and environmental outcomes.

This means we:
  • Avoid cheap recycling methods that reduce costs at the expense of the environment
  • Avoid recycling methods that are big users of power
  • Separate materials by hand to maximise recovery and reuse
  • Keep our by-products in Australia, supporting local companies and reducing transport mileage

75% recycling target

Soft Landing recycles up to 75% of all mattress components

Materials recycled

We send steel to Australian scrap metal recyclers, foam to carpet-underlay manufacturers,
and bed bases to local industry (where there is a market) for mulch.

STEEL SPRINGS

Recycled into products like roof sheeting

FOAM

Recycled into carpet underlay

TIMBER & HUSK

Recycled into weed matting and mulch

TEXTILES

R&D, end use products such as acoustic panelling

Our impact

Last financial year we recycled:

6,300 tonnes of steel
per year

That’s equivalent to keeping approximately 3150 standard cars out of landfill.

819 tonnes of timber
per year

That’s equivalent to keeping approximately 500 house doors out of landfill.

2,400 tonnes of foam
per year

That’s equivalent to keeping approximately 43 backyard swimming pools full of foam out of landfill.

How we recycle

Our manual mattress dismantling method prioritises environmental outcomes. It’s the ABSC’s preferred method of recycling, as it maximises recovery of sought-after resources used within mattresses. It involves deconstructing mattresses by hand and carefully sorting the recyclable materials, such as steel and Polyurethane (PU) foam, which are then sent to manufacturers to be turned into new products.

ILIESA LESIDAVUILEVU, SOFT LANDING SMITHFIELD

“Back home we don’t see these kinds of jobs in recycling. Coming here it was eye-opening to see Soft Landing recycling so much.”

Community Resources

JOBS THAT CARE FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET

Soft Landing is part of Community Resources, a national not-for-profit that runs some of the largest social enterprises in Australia and delivers a range of community services, employing 650 people last year, 79% of them experiencing barriers to employment.

Thank you for choosing to recycle your mattress with Soft Landing