Residents and businesses in San Benito County can now recycle their unwanted mattresses and box springs with the Mattress Recycling Council’s Bye Bye Mattress program for free at a new site in San Benito County, says a press release from the nonprofit.
RJR Recycling, 1771 San Felipe Road, now accepts mattress dropoffs from county residents and businesses, from 8am-5pm Monday through Saturday.
Locals can also continue to drop off mattresses at John Smith Road Landfill, 2650 John Smith Rd., from 8am-4pm Monday through Friday; and 9am-3pm Saturday and Sunday.
“We’re excited to continue expanding our network of mattress recycling sites and make recycling used mattresses easier for San Benito County residents,” said Mike O’Donnell, MRC’s Chief Operating Officer. “This growth will help us build on the more than 1.5 million mattresses each year that are recycled right here in California.”
MRC recently partnered with the county to reduce illegal dumping. A year-long pilot found that combining education, convenient disposal options and targeted enforcement reduced illegal dumping by 35%, says the press release.
Residents using curbside bulky-item collections to recycle their old mattresses increased by 60 percent. And more than 4,500 mattresses were dropped off at sites, including the John Smith Road Landfill, for recycling, according to the pilot program.
MRC is a nonprofit organization that operates statewide recycling programs in California and three other states that have passed mattress recycling laws.
MRC’s Bye Bye Mattress program is funded through a state-approved recycling fee that is collected on each mattress or box spring purchased by California consumers, says the press release. The fee is used to establish free dropoff locations and collection events throughout the state, transport collected units from these sites to companies that dismantle the discarded products, and recycle the materials.
