PSI Releases Carpet and Mattress Recycling How-To Guides

The Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) released two new how-to guides for recycling scrap carpet and used mattresses to help state and local government officials address the multi-million dollar challenge of managing these bulky products safely, responsibly and cost-effectively.

Scrap carpet poses a looming threat, with Americans discarding nearly 3.9 million tons of carpet and rugs each year and recycling only about 7.5%. More than 50,000 mattresses are discarded each day in the U.S., the equivalent of close to 20 million annually. While as much as 90% of mattress components—steel, cotton and foam—are recyclable, less than 5% of mattresses are salvaged annually; the rest present operational problems for our nation's landfills and waste-to-energy plants.