Park City Green: mattress recycling and green job generator

Park City Green's Iranistan Ave warehousePark City Green, a partnership between Greater Bridgeport Community Enterprises, Inc. and Family Re-entry, Inc., plans to convert a warehouse in the city’s South End into one of the first Mattress Recycling facilities on the east coast. This new company was formed as a result of the work of the BGreen 2020 Sustainability Initiative. The City of Bridgeport is helping the Park City Green build out their facility through the use of CDBG funding available through the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C.

Nationwide, millions of mattresses are thrown in landfills and incinerators each year, 85% of which are recyclable. Park City Green will collect used mattresses from municipal transfer stations, hospitals, universities, and local retailers. The mattresses are then separated  into their component parts and prepared  for recycling and reselling.Cotton baled for resale

Not only is traditional landfill disposal of mattresses costly to tax payers, but proper deconstruction can turn a profit by reselling the mattress’ raw materials: foam, cotton, wood, and metal. Here are some examples of how the raw material is recycled:

                CARPET PAD MAKERS buy the POLYURETHANE FOAM

                STEEL RECYCLERS melt the METAL SPRINGS

LANDSCAPERS buy the WOOD for MULCHING

                TEXTILE COMPANIES buy the COTTON

Mattress deconstruction also provides entry level jobs for community members. Annually, Bridgeport’s facility aims to recycle 100,000 mattresses while providing 15-20 jobs with benefits to local workers, both in the facility and in the product collection and distribution system.

Park City Green aims to become a self-sustaining business in Bridgeport within its first year. The facility is has recently received its DEEP permit and expected to open in the fall. To learn more about mattress recycling, click here.