Impose mandatory mattress recycling to reduce fly-tipping

The Local Government Association has said that more than 33,000 mattresses were illegally dumped across England between 2018 and 2019.

Council leaders are now calling for mattress manufacturers to be forced to recycle their own products and offer take-back services to stop them being illegally fly-tipped and reduce cost pressures on council recycling and waste disposal centres. The LGA wants manufacturers to be forced to recycle their mattresses and offer take-back services, which will enable people to return them instead of throwing them away.

Local authorities also want to work with the government on reviewing sentencing guidelines for fly-tipping, so offenders are given bigger fines for more serious offences, and to ensure councils have the funding needed to investigate incidents.

At present, annual UK mattress sales are outstripping the number recycled by more than five-fold, with 7.26 million sold as replacements compared to 1.36 million recycled. Furthermore, the lack of a comprehensive take-back and recycling scheme is leaving councils to pick up the slack. Mattresses made up 13 per cent of waste illegally dumped in England between 2013 and 2018.

David Renard, LGA Environment spokesman, said: “Dumped mattresses made up a quarter of all fly-tipping incidents in some areas in the past five years. Unwanted mattresses are fuelling landfill costs which continue to rise, putting pressure on waste and recycling centres which councils are working hard to keep open.

“Mattresses are bulky and hard to throw away, but are generally recyclable. Manufacturers need to take responsibility for the life-cycle of their mattresses and help councils and consumers dispose of them responsibly. Alongside being forced to offer take-back services and recycle mattresses as part of a circular economy, manufacturers need to be made to introduce mandatory take-back schemes to help reduce mattresses being dumped illegally and contributing to a fly-tipping bill of nearly £60 million a year to taxpayers in England. Fly-tipping is an illegal and inexcusable blight on society. Offenders need to be given bigger fines and councils need adequate funding to investigate incidents.

Mattresses need specialist treatment due to their bulky nature and mix of metal and fabric components. They are increasingly fuelling cost pressures on waste and recycling centres.