What do you do with your old mattresses and box springs?
It's likely most residents dump them at the dump, for $20 per item—or worse, toss them somewhere illegally.
But a new Annacis Island-based company will gladly take them for less, and the public can sleep more soundly knowing their mattresses and box springs will be recycled instead of languishing in the landfill.
Terryl Plotnikoff, general manager of Canadian Mattress Recycling, said the company has recycled more than 260,000 pounds of materials from residents and businesses since it opened in January of this year.
“We recognized that there was going to be a drastic need for a professional, licensed, and efficient recycling operator in the Lower Mainland to handle the thousands of mattresses being put in the dump," she said in a press release. "So we moved up the opening of our facility to fill the void, but what we did not expect was that the volume of mattresses and box springs was going to be this great."
And because of the demand from residents, Canadian Mattress Recycling also decided to start a pick-up service for those who cannot deliver their mattresses themselves.
Plotnikoff said since mid-March the company has been providing the Saturday pick-up service to customers who call and book.
"We think that our low disposal fee of $12 per mattress or box spring, along with our cheap pick-up charge, will really reduce illegal dumping in the Metro Vancouver area," she said.