www.climatechoices.act.gov.au  |  November 2022

In Australia, around 1.8 million mattresses end up in landfill each year.

Soft Landing, a national social enterprise that operates in Hume, repurpose unwanted mattresses and ensemble bases.

This keeps valuable materials in circulation, rather than sending them to landfill. It also creates local jobs, particularly for people experiencing barriers to employment.

The challenge

“Mattresses are made of many different materials including steel, timber, foam and textiles. This makes recycling more challenging as the materials must be separated before they can be recovered and repurposed,” said Kylie Roberts-Frost, ACT Manager, Soft Landing.

“If a mattress is sent to landfill it takes up large amounts of space, and these valuable resources are wasted.

“Mattresses are also often illegally dumped, which contaminates local environments.

“At Soft Landing we saw a significant landfill and environmental problem that needed a solution. We are tackling this problem, one mattress at a time.

Read more at climatechoices.act.gov.au