Funding for a new Mattress Recycling Centre

London Re-use Network awarded £132,000 to increase mattress recycling in the capital.

London Re-use Network has received funding of £132,000 to establish a much needed mattress recycling centre in Greenford, West London. Once fully operational the facility will be able to process over 60,000 mattresses a year, diverting them from landfill or incineration, and will create six jobs.

The project will be run in partnership with LRN member Furnish, a charity specialising in furniture re-use.

Meanwhile, LRN’s partner charity the London Community Resource Network (LCRN) have been awarded £8,000 to lead a project which will increase the recycling and re-use of bulky bedding material such as duvets, pillows and quilts, diverting over 150 tonnes of textiles from the waste stream each year.

Funding for both projects comes from the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB), Textile Re-use and Recycling Fund, which aims to increase the re-use and recycling of textiles including as clothing, carpets and mattresses in London.

LWARB Efficiencies Committee Chair and LWARB Board Member, Clyde Loakes, said: “Around 700,000 mattresses are discarded in London every year with limited options for dealing with them other than landfill or incineration. This much needed mattress recycling facility will enable 90% of the mattresses at the site to be recycled. As well as reducing the burden on the capital’s landfill sites, increasing recycling will also help to grow London’s economy by creating jobs, volunteering and training opportunities and reduce costs to local authorities.”

Charles Craft, Managing Director of the London Re-use Network said ‘We are delighted to receive this funding from LWARB, which will allow us to tackle one of the Capitals most difficult to process waste streams, creating sustainable and innovative solutions to London’s waste’.