New recycling service aims to keep old mattresses out of landfills

WINNIPEG — There is a new and environmentally friendly way to get rid of your old mattress.

An announcement on Saturday introduced a new service from Ikea. Customers who purchase a new mattress from the retailer and have it delivered to their home, also have the option to have their old mattress recycled for $10.

Indigenous owned recycling company Mother Earth Recycling has teamed up with Ikea to offer customers the option. The provincial government funded part of this program last year.

“I think what Ikea has seen here is that there’s incredible potential like Winnipeg’s north end,” Kevin Chief, MLA for Point Douglas said.  “They see the possibilities and they recognize there’s a young Indigenous demographic and they want to make sure those are possibilities that people right here in our neighbourhood can get.”

The service is part of Winnipeg’s first mattress recycling program. It hopes to keep thousands of mattresses out of landfills, while creating jobs for people facing employment barriers living in the north end.

After the mattress is collected by Ikea, it will be brought to Mother Earth Recycling on Main St. where workers will disassemble the mattresses into their components – wood, metal and padding – and re purpose them for future use.

According to Mother Earth Recycling, Winnipeggers throw out around 40,000 mattresses every year.