For the past year Rubicon National has been working to get mattress recycling off the ground as a social enterprise diverting waste and employing the hardest to employ workers. Now, with a facility open (and at last report covering all direct costs!) in San Jose and a facility close to launch in Philadelphia (check out the article on page 17 of Grid Magazine below), we are working to identify the remaining U.S. markets where mattress recycling is likely to be a viable social enterprise.
Key to making the market is a governmental presence committed to environmental sustainability and consumers that value waste diversion and recycling of resources enough to demand it of the businesses from which they buy their new products. We've talked to several retailers who don't think their customers value waste stream diversion enough to pay an extra $10 at the time of purchase to guarantee their mattress is recycled. We don't think that's a valid assumption. Only time will tell, but we will continue to develop the business infrastructure that will allow the opportunity to recycle mattresses to exist. When every mattress store offers a recycling option, we will know we've been successful.
Mattress recycling coming to Philly! Check out page 17: http://issuu.com/redflagmedia/docs/grid_2009.09
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