Montreal launches pilot project to recycle mattresses

The City of Montreal is asking people to bring their mattresses to the St-Laurent ecocentre, as part of a pilot project launched in August.

The mattresses will be dismantled, reused and recycled.

Mattresses and box springs left on the side of the road typically end up in a landfill.

"We will surely try to expand this service so that we don't have to necessarily bring the mattress to an ecocentre," Montreal executive committee member Marie-Andree Mauger said.

Last year, the city says 85,000 tons of material were brought to ecocentres. It's estimated that 20 per cent of items end up in the garbage.

"Its multi-material object and sometimes it's very difficult to separate the plastic, metal and the textile or other material," said Mauger.

At the Lasalle ecocentre, a worker now breaks down objects made up of multiple materials. Furniture is a popular item that previously would have ended up in a landfill.

"That would have gone into the landfill so a big loss of material," said Philippe Micheaux-Naudet, from the company Stratzer.

These changes at ecocentres are part of a pilot project to prevent materials from ending up at the dump.

It started in August and a review of the program will take place in February.