While some stores say they have gone green, STL Beds does more than talk the talk. As a member of the Sustainable Furnishing Council and a voluntary member of Ameren UE Pure Power program, STL Beds has made a company wide commitment to ourselves, our customers, and most importantly to the environment to become a modern green company within the St Louis community.  Recycle, reuse, and energy savings has been our company commitment since February 2008 when we took our first public steps to educate the community via our blog where we shared various ways to recycle mattress and box springs.  Though these are great solutions for the time as to what a person can do with their old mattress set, today I am happy to announce that STL Beds has partnered up with a local company that is as committed to sustainability as we are and has agreed to recycle mattresses for our local customers.

Company that recycles mattresses in St Louis

• Location STL Beds
• Cost $25.00 (NOTE We are currently unable to provide this service till further notice)
• Want us to Pick Up your old mattress?  Fee is based on zip code, call for a free quote.
• Mention this STL Beds article and used the “Promo Code STL Beds Recycles” with your purchase of a mattress set and we will recycle your old set for free.

What happens to the old mattress and box spring in the recycling process?

The typical mattress and box spring is made up of steel, polyurethane (p.u.) foam, cotton, fabric, and of course wood in the base. Solid recycling programs exist for the steel, and a market for the p.u. foam exists as well. Last but not least the fabric and wood that comes out of old mattresses and box springs are also recyclable. Our recycler is committed to seeing that these components are properly recovered and are reintroduced to the market place in a safe responsible manner.

Many waste disposal companies claim that the value of the recycled materials cannot be recovered from mattress recycling alone. We think the recyclable components of a bed make sense financially to be reclaimed as a responsible alternative to dumping them in our landfills which are running out of space. The fact is mattresses can take up to 25 cubic feet of space and can take hundreds of years to properly decompose.

As we have mentioned in previous articles there are a few operations that recycle mattress sets across the USA and even worse may not spread nation wide without appropriate funding. Since it typically costs $25.00 to dispose of a mattress set through most waste disposal companies, it is our hope that you will help us offset our costs to carry out this green effort buying paying a small fee to do so. We ask that you please consider our environment, long term sustainability, and support STL Beds in our personal effort to help change the way mattresses are disposed of in St. Louis. With your support we can make a difference right here in Saint Louis Missouri.

Mattress Recycling – One St. Louis Area Company on a Mission blog.

I will be contacting Conigliaro Industries very soon to see if this is a feasible and logistical option for STL Beds. We’ll keep you informed.

I recently saw the article on your website about your companies interest in a mattress recycling program.

The Rest Assured National Mattress Recycling Program provides a simple, professional service to recycle your mattresses. Conigliaro Industries provides a cost effective and environmentally ecological solution to recycle over 95% of difficult to dispose of material including mattresses, upholstered furniture, and ceiling tiles.  We are a Certified National Recycler that provides access to LEED credits to your company and to create the most affordable recycling solutions that will protect the environment from difficult to dispose of material. Our professional recycling service will remove and recycle over 95% of the material; creating a cost effective and environmentally responsible recycling option for all of your hotel renovations and recycling needs of “hard to dispose of” material.  Please do not hesitate to contact me with your recycling needs and we can build you a cost effective and ecological quote to serve your recycling needs with our national program designed to save the consumer on logistical and shipping costs.

We were recently featured in Planet Green as one of the top companies to recycle mattresses. http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/recycle-matress.html

I look forward to assisting you with all your future recycling needs.

Thank You for your time,

Michael Mitrowski

National Mattress Recycling Manager

Conigliaro Industries

701 Waverly Street

Framingham, MA 01702

We hope that no matter what happens with STL Beds and the information included in this email that other mattress retailers and furniture stores can benefit from this information.

when their dealer hauls it away or exchanges it under a comfort guarantee. It’s sad but some people could care less what happens to it as long as they don’t have to contend with it. Fortunately for everyone more people are beginning to ask what happens to that old mattress when it leaves my house. 
   
The fact is in most cases stores simply dispose of mattresses where they end up in land fills much to the dismay of the trash haulers. Old mattresses are unsanitary, hard to handle, and do not easily compress or compost. Once in the land fill such things as non biodegradable materials, synthetic fibers, and the large amounts of chemicals used to build them and make them fire retardant could affect our earth leaching out into the ground water.
You might ask “Why not recycle them?” Here several problems come up.

• First is cost, recycling mattresses is very labor intensive. Much of the work has to be done by hand and where there is equipment to do it, the problem is that it gets very expensive.
• Second is the cost of transportation to get the mattress to the point of recycling. At this time there are only about 12 recyclers in the U.S and Canada.
  We have been asked if we can resell them and the answer is no! Even if retailers could sell them legally they run the risk of spreading disease, exposing consumers to unsanitary environment, and yes even bed bugs cross contaminating new mattresses. Many people have suggested the issue of cleaning and sanitizing old mattresses so they could be used again through reuse making them a more sustainable product. The extra expensive of time from labor, increased costs of sanitizing, and costs involved to get proper certifications would cause old mattresses to sell for the same prices as some new mattresses.

We’re not saying it’s the best or healthiest decision for mattress seekers, but a large portion of them do find new homes through flea markets, second hand shops, and Craig’s list. I don’t condone this because people have to do what they have to do to afford a mattress and it often beats sleeping on the floor.

Other ways old mattresses are gotten rid of

Many second hand stores and retailers of so called “new” mattresses have been exposed for improperly recovering old mattresses illegally or not properly sanitizing them to meet laws to protect used mattress buyers.  When these mattresses don’t get stripped down and recovered with new materials or at the very least sanitized you just don’t want to know what’s on the inside. Shockingly these mattresses are then rebagged and are sold as new which should be illegal under the new federal fire code #1633. Sometimes required law labels are faked or not even present on the mattress notifying the consumer of contents and proper fire safety certification.

So what will happen in the future to old mattresses?   

I suspect that in the very near future, recycling will become much more available to each of us. Everyone will likely see implemented some type of disposal fee which could be handled much like the deposit fee required on glass soda bottles in some states. At the very least if dealers have to pay for disposal of an old mattress it’s like every other expense it will be passed on to the consumer as a cost of doing business.

Personally, I am not entirely convinced global warming is man made, however I do believe that it’s important to make a sincere effort to preserve the Earth and it’s atmosphere. For as many years as I can count the mattress industry which supports my lively hood has not respected or supported the planet I live on that sustains my life.

I find it interesting how everyone points fingers including myself, when we are all to blame. Some believe being Eco friendly makes a difference while others do not. In the retail mattress industry I have had this question asked of me many times and people often giggle at the mention of an Eco friendly or organic mattress.

If history teaches anything is that we can learn a lot from past civilizations that knew the repercussions of being wasteful and for that very reason made use anything and everything. Those lessons are just as important today and somehow we have forgotten that in our throwaway society. I’m not talking about “go green” t-shirts you can by at a department stores, but rather real changes that can affect our personal health and our environments health.

Doug’s 5 reasons an environmentally responsible mattress is important

1. When my father started his water bed business I can remember coming home and my mom telling us that we smelled like a swimming pool store. Today I cringe at the thought of my exposure to the chemicals that was endured throughout those years of selling vinyl waterbed mattresses. I am pretty convinced that those chemicals from off gassing sometimes called VOC’s had not only permeated my clothing but my body.
2. As of July 2007 most people haven’t a clue that the way mattresses are being built was changed so radically. Today we all need to be very cautious to possible exposure to harmful PBDE’s in order. A mandated law that was designed to save the few people that were injuring or killing them selves by smoking in bed yet know we all live with a possible bigger risk.
3. The average mattress is 12 inches thick or more, half of which is foam that is chemically high in content and petroleum based. Foam the primary ingredient to build a makes us the average mattress buyer a part of the problem yet again by stripping the oil of earth of another luxury. Yet many of us haven’t a clue of how foam it is built or where it comes from.
4. The industry doesn’t want a mattress to last forever and builds mattresses for the consumer that don’t last but a few years for profits which could be made in other ways. The average consumer throws a mattress away with no real understanding of the environmental impact. They are typically unaware that 1 mattress set takes up to 25 cubic feet of landfill space and that in fact can take hundreds of years to break down.
5. Most of us are unaware that mattresses don’t compost well while even more is not aware that nation wide only a handful of mattress recycling programs exists.  This is because it is a very labor-intensive process to tear apart a mattress just like it is to build one.

Today Mattresses can be built with:

• Replaceable parts
• Biodegradable and sustainable materials
• Recycled materials
• Without or with minimal chemicals
• Eco friendly but human friendly too

How to: Waterbed headboard into a freestanding headboard

Begin by breaking down your hard side wood framed waterbed saving all the screws, hardware, and frame boards. You will be able to utilize the old side frames to build headboard stands or headboard legs. In order to have your headboard sitting at the optimal height behind your new mattress you will to first determine the precise height to cut the stands too. You can do this by measuring the combined height of your mattress, box spring, and pedestal or frame that will be positioned in front of the newly freestanding headboard. Example: if combined height of the bed frame/drawer pedestal, mattress set, and base are 27”, cut your stands about 26”. The angle brackets used to hold your old bed together will be used to build your headboard stands.

Can I still used my waterbed drawers underneathe my mattress?

For those who have a drawer pedestal and want to continue to utilize the storage of them, know that you can set you mattress or mattress set on top of the drawers. First you will need to cut to size and screw down your old plywood decking on top of the pedestal which will now become a platform bed. Make it look more professional by cutting to size and putting a piece of trim around it for a more finished edge. If you have a taller drawer pedestal such as 18 ½” you may want to use your mattress only without a box spring or you will end up with a very tall bed with a total finished height of 38” to 42” tall. We often joke with customers who want to do this that they will need a ladder to get into bed.

How to use metal bed frame with water bed head board.

If you have no drawers or plan on not using your existing drawer pedestal you can use a regular steel bed frame and just set it in front of your headboard on stands. We don’t recommend using the old box pedestal or riser because they are unstable without the weight of a waterbed to secure them into position. With a little determination, a saw, and an electric drill, you now have changed your waterbed back into a conventional bed.

Available water bed insert mattress sizes:

· Super Single 46 inches wide x 82 inches long
· California Queen 58 inches wide x 82 inches long
· California King 70 inches wide x 82 inches long

10 Benefits of a waterbed insert mattress

1. You can keep your waterbed headboard, frame, drawers, sheets, mattress pad, and comforter.
2. Saves money only one thing to buy, a conventional coil spring mattress that is made to fit the waterbed.
3. Buying a replacement conventional mattress for the hard side waterbed means you can still use everything you already own for it.
4. Regular mattresses for a waterbed are easier to get in and out of.
5. Special waterbed conventional mattresses are easy to move.
6. No waterbed heater expenses to pay for.
7. Waterbed inserts come in a variety of firmnesses including Firm, Medium, and Pillow Top Soft, memory foam, and all natural latex
8. Conventional water bed inserts are cheaper than buying a new set of mattresses.
9. Do not have to drain and fill when moving the waterbed.
10. Don’t have to worry about leaks.

Bonus Benefit

11. Waterbed Inserts are lightweight.

Can’t find a store that carries waterbed inserts. Contact us or call STL Beds at 888-STL-BEDS

Pay for a disposal
Donate it
Give it away

Disposing of mattresses through waste disposal or trash services.

Most trash services will haul away old mattresses and boxsprings for a nominal fee. They will then take it and properly dispose of the mattress for you, no matter what kind of shape it is in and usually require it to be sitting curbside for them to pick up. Not to long ago back on 7/31/08 I wrote a blog called Mattress Recycling – One St. Louis Area Company on a Mission. While researching the blog, I sent out an email to several waste companies asking for information that they might share with our readers. “AKA their customers”. I had hoped that they would be of some help in assisting the readers on the best ways to properly disposal of mattresses in an environmentally friendly way. (Recycling Mattresses) I offered in return full credit to any waste disposal company free of charge free advertising via my web site.  I attempted to contact  (IESI, Allied Waste, Veolia. The only company that responded to my inquiry was Waste Management of St. Louis who helped with very good suggestions. So thank you to WM again for their help. However Waste Management of St. Louis did not have a recycling program for mattresses. They did offer some suggestions

St. Louis here are a few ways you can give your mattress away.

• St. Louis area phone books are loaded with churches. There is probably one near you who would be glad to help and individual or family in need of a clean mattress.
• There are charitable organizations In The St. Louis Area That will accept clean used mattresses and box springs.
• If you are looking  to get a few dollars for your old used mattress and boxspring well here is your chance.

Craig’s List is a place where you can sell your old mattress set or purchase a used mattress and boxspring in the St. Louis area. Craigslist St. Louis can also be a good way to help someone out who may not be able to afford a new mattress and boxspring. Craig’s List St. Louis has several places where an individual can post a classified ad for free as well. I would recommend listing under the “For Sale” or the heading “Free”, “Furniture”   “Household.”

If you are Looking for a free mattress or something specific like a brand name, or special size mattress in the St. Louis area post that listing under the “Wanted” Category. http://stlouis.craigslist.org/

Riverfront Times Backpage.com Simply list your item under buy sell or trade. Simply post your mattress under “Furniture” or “Free”. If you are looking for something specific in your mattress purchase post under “Want-Trade” and list exactly what you are looking for. http://stlouis.backpage.com/online/classifieds/index

Junk man or companies like them can dispose of old mattresses:

1-800-GOT-JUNK? Their advertisement says that they are a full-service junk removal company. They will haul nearly anything away including old furniture and mattresses. They will load and cleanup, anyplace the items are – and you don’t have to carry it yourself all the way to the curb. Cost are pretty steep to just haul a mattress away, but if you are like me you could probably find enough other junk to get rid of in addition to that old mattress to make it worth while. http://www.1800gotjunk.com/us_en/

Blog coming soon will offer ways to recycle your old mattress and box spring through reuse.

Really you say? Everyone wants a safe, durable, comfortable mattress and from our experience latex rubber meets and exceeds all traditional mattresss criteria.

· Mattresses built from rubber are more durable than those built from polyurethane foam.
Natural rubber mattresses do not take the set that traditional spring mattresses get. Almost immediately body impressions appear in regular mattresses, this is what we call a body impression. Over time like anything a mattress can loose its resiliency, but with all natural latex rubber its elasticity is its trademark. Similar to a rubber car tire latex rubber mattresses are not only flexible and durable but return to their original shape.

· Latex mattresses are good for the environment because they save much needed landfill space.
This is because all natural latex rubber mattresses last between 15-25 and years resulting in fewer being thrown into landfills and dumps. There are only a handful of mattress recycling programs in the USA so most mattress and boxsprings end up in these landfills within 5-8 years. Even worse is that mattresses use up more landfill space than nearly any other household item combined.

· Latex mattresses are environmentally friendly because they are naturally biodegradable.
When a mattresses useful life has been exhausted and needs to be disposed all natural mattress materials decompose at a faster rate than regular mattresses and boxsprings. Their decomposition will not leach the poisonous toxins into the environment often found in common mattresses. Think of it like cheap particleboard furniture vs. hand crafted oak furniture. Which will end up in the dump first?

· Latex mattresses can be custom built to your desired firmness for the best feel and support.
You can also swap out softer and firmer rubber layers to change and customize the feel, which can be very important as your body changes 5,10, or even 15 years down the road.

·Organic latex mattresses can be individually customized for each sleeper.
Dual firmnesses are available so one sleeper can have firm while the other snuggles up to soft.

· All natural latex mattress components are not derived from non-renewable oil.
That’s right latex mattresses are built from sustainable and renewable resources. The rubber tree is the primary resource for this mattress type with a life cycle of about eighteen years. After the first three years the tree will grow to maturity and start to produce the rubber sap the mattresses are built from.

· Organic rubber mattresses are safer and healthier mattresses because of the extremely limited amount of chemicals used to make them.

Dunlop latex is about 90 to 95 percent all natural rubber. The vulcanization process requires curing factors, such as fatty acid soaps (1-2 percent), zinc oxide (2-3 percent), sulfur (1-2 percent) and sodium (1-2percent). The last stages of this latex fabrication process washes out these added chemicals and the water is then recycled for a nearly all naturally chemical free mattress and clean waste water.

· What about the fabric covers are they really safer?
Our Land and Sky latex mattresses use certified organic wool to comply with new mandated fire safety laws. Some companies use undisclosed chemicals to comply with the Consumer Product Safety Commissions mandate FR1633 for fire retardantcy.

· Over their useable life latex mattresses are cheaper than regular coil spring mattresses.

At the time of this blog a queen latex mattress if it only lasted for 15 years priced out at $1500.00 which would cost about $100.00 a year to own. A regular $600.00 mattress and box spring normally last for about 5 years costing about $120.00 a year. Now add to that the waste of resources such as steel, oil, fabric, foams and landfill space wasted in that same 15 year time period.

· It does not require as much energy to produce an all-natural latex mattress.
Lets not even get into the technical details. It would take at the very least twice the raw materials and resources to get a conventional spring mattress to last as long. So why don’t mattress companies build them to last. $$$ They don’t want them too.

Conclusion:
Latex is cheap, durable, and comfortable. The only way to find out for sure is to test drive one for yourself. Find an Organic and All Natural Mattress near you. Are Green Organic Latex Mattresses Any Good Or Just a Sham?

Tell us what you think.

Read more about Latex Green

In late October of 2007 The Water Works took a huge eco friendly step by offering our customers a choice in mattresses that are constructed from sustainable resources rather fossil fuels. Just as important these mattresses are virtually chemical free. Having taken this big step we can now offer our customers the choice of being environmentally responsible when purchasing a mattress set.

I guess you could say in recent months we have become committed to the idea of owning a more earth friendly business. The Water Works Sleep Center’s goal is to give back to the environment as much as possible through a dedicated recycling effort.

Here are a few of our ideas.

1. Our findings determined that the biggest impact environmentally would come from recycling the old mattresses and boxsprings we haul away and dispose of for our customers. By recycling these old mattresses and boxsprings we could save much needed space in landfills for items that do break down and compost.
   The fact is that mattress sets are designed and built to last for many years and therefore don’t break down properly. This is a great mattress characteristic for the consumer, but a very bad one for a landfill. We were disappointed to learn that at this time to our knowledge Jefferson County, St. Louis City and County do not have mattress-recycling programs in place. There is currently only a hand full of projects to recycle mattresses being offered across the country. We feel there has to be a way to utilize the raw materials such as the polyurethane foam, steel, and wood form old mattresses and boxsprings through a concerted or maybe even mandated recycling effort?
2. Secondly we determined there is a way that we can make a large impact immediately. The amount of cardboard that we dispose of is quite incredible. The cardboard that is collected from protective packaging from such things as dressers, chest of drawers, and mattress boxes only goes to waste. The sad thing is to this point we are doing nothing but throwing this recyclable waste into our dumpster which ends up in the local landfill. We are currently working on this issue and will keep you up to date.
3. Finally we throw away quite a large amount of plastic bags. These bags are used to wrap new mattress and boxsprings and pack various items that we sell. Currently we have recycled a great number of these mattress bags others have been recycled through reuse. Often people contact us looking specifically for mattress bags to protect their expensive mattress from damage during a move and we provide them at no charge. Moving companies often charge about $5.00 plus for a bag. Some people have also used these plastic bags to cover outdoor patio furniture in the wintertime while others use them protect their gardens from cold snaps and frost.

The hardest part of something like this is getting started; nevertheless recycling has to start somewhere so we decided recently to contact several local waste management companies. Here is a copy of the email we sent out.

To Whom It May Concern:

I own a small retail mattress store in the 63010 area and have been getting many inquiries about how customers can recycle mattress and boxsprings. I have a blog on my website that is at www.stlbeds.com . I intend on addressing mattress-recycling issues. I would be glad to put up any information you might have concerning those issues specifically directed at how people can properly dispose of a mattress set or ideally recycle them. I would be glad to credit your company  (IESI, Allied Waste, Veolia and Waste Management of St. Louis) with any relevant information with free advertising on our website for providing such useful information to the general public.

Thank you,
Doug Belleville
636-296-8540

Unfortunately only one company responded to my email.

The only company that responded to my inquiry was Waste Management of St. Louis. Company representative Melanie A. Ambridge who was very helpful called me to let me know that they did not have such a program in place. She did mention several alternatives to trashing the old mattress. I will provide that information in a future related blog. I researched the other waste disposal companies’ websites only to find that they did not offer mattress-recycling programs. Waste haulers please feel free to call us with changes to the previously mentioned information and will post and update your mattress recycling status.

How can we get mattress recycling?
Pressure your waste service with phone calls and letters telling them you want them to provide a mattress recycling program.

When we recover the materials used to build a mattress for reuse, if means one less tree, one less barrel of oil is needed to build something else. By recycling what we throw away The Water Works Sleep Center and The Furniture Gallery can reallocate money spent to dump trash and waste into a landfill into paying for services like hauling always recyclable materials such as cardboard and mattresses. We encourage you to reduce your waste by increasing your recycling efforts. Call your waste service and ask about recycling.

The Water Works has dedicated itself to setting aside just a few moments every day to organize recyclables. We are challenging you at home and work to do the same to help reduce waste and benefit the environment at the same time. By recycling, reusing, and buying products that have less environmental impact you to can do your part.

We will continue our efforts to contact various waste companies who are interested in solving this issue. If you know of a company dedicated to such efforts please comment below and we will give them a shout out. We would love to find a company willing to deal with the mattress recycling issue. We will be posting follow-ups to this blog in the future.

Come on (IESI, Allied Waste, Veolia and Waste Management of St. Louis) one of you can make a difference by recycling mattresses – who will it be?

• Would you like to have a mattress-recycling program in St. Louis City, North/South/West St. Louis County, Jefferson County, and Franklin County?
• Would you use a mattress recycle program if it were offered?
• How much would you be willing to pay to have a mattress properly torn down and recycled?
• Recycling is simple!
• Recycling can save you money on your purchases!
• Mattress Recycling would benefit the local economy!
• Mattress Recycling would create new jobs!
• Mattress Recycling would conserve fossil fuels / natural resources!
• Mattress recycling can save energy!
• Mattress recycling can reduce pollution!

A waterbed head board as a rule rests on the stock extended waterbed frame which does not touch the floor. When legs are added they become an extension of the headboard. People are often surprised how properly it matches with existing bedroom furniture while saving you money and recycling your headboard through reuse.

Cut to length the corresponding pieces of wood side frames. Attach them to the headboard that will now stand at the proper height. Just as important the headboard will seamlessly blend once again with your dresser, chest and nightstands. These can also be purchased prefabricated and are called headboard stands. This now self-supporting bookcase headboard can accommodate a conventional steel bed frame that will be bolted up for further stability.

With the headboard now in place any number of different mattress options is available to rest on your new headboard and frame combination. What kind of a mattress can be used with a waterbed headboard you ask?

Any and all mattresses including:

• Mattress and Boxspring
• Memory Foam
• Latex
• Organic
• Airbed
• Softside Waterbed

2. Use A Waterbed Insert (Drop in Replacement Mattress)
The waterbed drop in mattress is the cheapest and easiest conversion method to put you back on an innerspring mattress or any other mattress of your choice while keeping your waterbed headboard and coordinating furniture. These specially sized innerspring mattresses are intended fit the unique sizes of wood framed waterbeds.

Waterbed drop in mattresses usually measure:
• California King 70 x 82
• California Queen 58 x 82
• Super Single 46 x 82

The mattresses are intentionally undersized allowing you to make your bed with ease while continuing to use waterbed sheets and comforters.

3. Replace Your Old Worn Out Unsupportive Waterbed With A New One.
Water mattresses can and do lose their support just like coil spring mattresses but are significantly cheaper to replace. Buying a quality-baffled mattress with support can cost only a few hundred dollars or less compared to a thousand dollars or more. It can be like an old pair of shoes or innerspring mattress; the support just slowly goes away. A water mattress option allows a person to retain the benefits of temperature control, keeping your waterbed warmer or cooler if you so choose, a rare find in today’s mattress market. If you choose this route it is important to remember to have your waterbed heater and standup safety liners looked at for possible replacement.