Finding a Circular Solution For
100% Of The Separated Components.
To the end user a mattress may have arrived at its “end of life” for numerous reasons; uncomfortable, the cause of back ache, accidental damage and component failure to name a few. Thats not to say that each and every component and even every inch of each component within the mattress has also reached the end of life!
Is It Really At The Of It's End of Life?
No, is the answer this does not mean that all the components are at the end of their life. In June 2022, we launched our revolutionary brand, Reborn – The Sustainable Manufacturer.
We found that mattresses deemed (EoL) end-of-life yielded components of good integrity and materials suitable for reuse. We became passionate about the historical approach of full re-processing (or landfill) of mattresses with the associated, unacceptable burden of energy, emissions and resources on the economy and ecology could be mitigated via re-making into something new.
Our Approach
Our approach of pro-active re-use and aggressive minimisation of discard will help prevent a shift from the current landfill crisis to a manufacturing crisis. The historical re-processors to whom materials were being diverted to were already at full capacity. The increasng number of mattress recyclers trying to divert materials to these re-processors were finding that this diversion route was becoming more and more difficult. So difficult that any rebates that they were gettng for these materials were been watered down with the cost to store them until such a time that the re-processors would be able to take them. This simply adds cost to the recycler which in turn adds cost to the tradtional mattress recycling gate fee. If we do not act now, mattress recycling facilities would simply be diverting separated components to landfll rather than complete mattresses and we gain nothing
EITHER THIS COST IS ADDED TO THE MATTRESS RECYCLING GATE FEE OR WE FIND AN ALTERNATIVE USE FOR THESE SEPARATED MATERIALS!
Changing this linear culture of “make, break and throw away” to our circular “make, break and re-make” we are creating products from insulation to pet beds, campervan cushions, divan bed bases, garden seat pads, garden planters and fence panels; the list of opportunities for ecological and economic benefit for all is endless.
SPRING
SPRING
POCKET SPRING
POCKET SPRING
FOAM
FOAM
LATEX FOAM
LATEX FOAM
COIR FIBRE
COIR FIBRE
MIXED FIBRE
MIXED FIBRE
COTTON
COTTON
WOOL
WOOL
HORSE HAIR
HORSE HAIR
POLYESTER
POLYESTER
QUILTED MATERIAL
QUILTED MATERIAL
SHODDY
SHODDY
POLYETHYLENE
POLYETHYLENE
TIMBER
TIMBER
NOODLES - THERMOPLASTIC
NOODLES - THERMOPLASTIC
GREY BOARD
GREY BOARD
CASTERS & GLIDES
CASTERS & GLIDES
WOODEN LATS
WOODEN LATS
MATRESS COVERS
MATRESS COVERS
METAL BED FRAME
METAL BED FRAME
There is a darker and sinister side!
Pre-Bye Bye Bed Ltd’s creation in June 2020 and Reborn’s – The Sustainable Manufacturer in 2021 components retrieved from End-Of-Life (EoL) Mattresses had 3 end destinations:
Energy for Waste (EfW)
Reprocessors
A more financially favourable solution for the mattress recycling businesses was to sell these components back in to the industry, primarily the open coil spring units, the pocket spring units and the foam. This is all well and good and perfectly legal (see nbf used and reused policy) BUT ONLY if the purchaser of these goods declared the use of these recycled components in the manufacture and composition of the new mattress that they intend to make from these components.
The National Bedding Federation (NBF), the mattress industry and governing bodies have tirelessly been trying to tackle this ‘non-disclosure’ of using recycled content for many, many years. It has had a devastatng effect on the industry reputation through the rise of on-line mattress sellers quite simply offering mattresses priced that are just too good to be true. Often selling a complete mattress delivered nationwide for less than it would cost to actually purchase the virgin raw materials. This total disregard to the legal compliance for cleanliness and flammabilty have even seen old mattresses simply recovered and sold as new to the unsuspecting consumer thinking that they have grabbed a bargain.
Our ethical, circular and sustainable solution STOPS this. It offers a transparent end destination for end-of-life mattresses, guaranteeing that not only 100% of mattresses received avoid landfill, they avoid getting into the hands of the unscrupulous manufacturer too. Following our cutting edge sanitisation and re-manufacturing capabilities we find a circular and ethical end destination for 100% of the separated components too. We are committed to cleaning up the mattress industry by manufacturing a product of the same integrity and the same legal compliance than one manufactured from virgn raw materials but at a fraction of the price and a tiny fracton of the ecological impact.
Finding A Circular Solution For 100%
The National Bedding Federation NBF and the Trading Standards have worked tirelessly over many years to provide a voice for its members and “protected them from rogue traders and unscrupulous manufacturers” said the president of the NBF Ebrahim Patel following his takeover from former president Stuart Hibbert who developed the NBF Code Of Practice.
Furniture News back in February 2014 reported a mattress scam whereby unfit-for-purpose mattresses were being sold out to unsuspecting consumers.
BBC’s Fake Britain programme aired in January of the same year highlighted the alarming number of unsafe and illegal mattresses being sold that do not meet British flammability regulations and carry fake FR-certified labels.
Whats The Effect
The sales of these units for re-purposed mattresses has had devastating effects on reputable manufacturing and reputable retail stores who have seen a slump in sales because the unsuspecting consumers decided to make a purchase that was, in fact, “Too good to be true” rather than purchasing a product that comes with the assurance of its legal compliance and integrity.
Naturally, the consumer is looking to purchase the best quality products for the least amount of money possible.
Reborn Products have revolutionised the industry by finding sustainable, ethical and legally compliant ways to reuse these materials;
- This prevents raw materials from being sold back into the industry
- Offers an alternative outlet for the disposal of end-of-life mattresses
- Sets a clear differentiation in price between a product manufactured from virgin raw materials and one manufactured from recycled content
- Guarantees compliance with cleanliness and flammability legislation
- Offers transparency in its manufacturing processes and pricing strategy
- Offering consumers a choice never seen before; purchase a product using virgin raw materials, and pay the economic and ecological price or choose to purchase a REborn Product; of the same integrity, the same legal compliance and the same cleanliness (if not cleaner) than newly manufactured products but at a fraction of the price and a tiny fraction of the ecological impact
- Keeps the mattress recycling gate fee down to a minimum with the hope of preventing the need to implement an EPR scheme
- Reduces emissions in transportation as it brings back mattresses on return journeys from delivering new products
Needs A Global Solution
This is a global problem, and Reborn has the worldwide solution. With 18.7m mattresses in the USA, just under 2 million in Australia and 30 million across Europe, there is no shortage of raw materials. We just need to re-use them in the most ethical and morally correct way.
The value of the separated components need to be raised to offset the reduction in the incoming mattress recycling gate fee. Mattress recyclers without any manufacturing desire or experience need an outlet to divert these separated components to;
A revenue stream that ensures there business model is sustainable and economically viable
An alternatve end destination that prevents the recycler from selling into the hands of the rogue manufacturer. An unscrupulous manufacturer who gives no consideration to the products safety standards, cleanliness and declaration of use of recycled content. This historical bad practice needs to STOPPED.
With Reborn’s ethical and circular solution Mattress Recyclers can then be held accountable for where these components finish off at the end-of-life
