501(c) (3) | dgmdr

U.S.A INDUSTRY RESEARCH (Glance at the Volume of mattresses & box springs)

STR Global-Hotel Census Database: 156,000 hotels, 14.5 million rooms
American Resort Development Association: 1,540 resorts in United States
Statista - Residential Real Estate: 142 million housing units
Property Owners & Managers Survey (POMS): 2,236,024 less than 5 units,

459,263 Five to 49 units, 59,577 fifty or more units

American Hospital Association (AHA) 2016: 5,627 registered hospitals, 914,513 hospital beds
U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs: 1,700 hospital, clinics, community living centers, etc.
U.S Armed Forces-5-Military Branches: (800 military bases: estimated over 100,000 beds
WBEZ & IBIS World-Mattress stores in U.S.: 9,200, 10,000 projected by 2020
Association of American Colleges & Universities: 2,618 accredited 4-year colleges and universities, estimated over 50,000 beds

ISPA Source

U.S. imports 75% of spring mattresses and 25% of other types of mattresses each year
40 million mattresses and box springs are sold in the United States each year for use in residential and institutional settings
30 million are disposed of to our landfills across the nation

Problem Statement

30 million are disposed of to our landfills across the nation, which is about 50,000 mattresses and box springs are discarded each day in the United States.
Discarded mattresses in landfills or illegally dumped take years to degrade.
Mattresses are one of the most difficult and expensive waste streams municipalities are faced with every day.
Mattresses and box springs are disposed of in landfills or incinerators, where their bulk and relative inflexibility make them difficult to handle and expensive to manage, and take 23 cubic feet of landfill space per piece.

Need Statement

The deconstructing of mattresses and recycling their parts frees up landfill space, produces recyclable material that can be sold to carpet pad makers, steel recyclers and textile companies, and creates entry level jobs and useful skills for a population that has difficulty finding employment. Disassembling & recycling activities divert end-of-life mattresses and box springs from landfill and generate secondary resources. When these secondary materials are used, the demand for new materials is reduced. It is thus typically assumed that recycling and reuse avoids the production of equivalent amounts of competing primary resources. In mattress and box spring recycling there are secondary markets for the steel of the innerspring unit, the polyurethane.

This proposed waste management through dismantling the mattresses & box springs for recycling and reuse is vital to heighten community awareness on the importance of reducing the environmental impacts of solid waste disposal. Improper disposal (illegal dumping) of mattress & box spring poses a threat of soil and water contamination that could damage the ecosystems of the plants, animals, and fresh water sources in our communities.

Future Robotics

DGreenMDR has pending patent "Mattress & Box Spring Dismantling Facility Floor Plan" a one-stop-shop for dismantling the mattress & box spring. Facilities will have a solution using robotics and machines that will improve the outcome and drive operational efficiency. Human workers will continue to play an important role in the industry, however, they cannot do everything by themselves.

Everyday thousands of mattresses and box springs are generated from households, hospitals, hotels/motels and more. While today we have numerous ways to get rid of the accumulated bulky items, it still ends up affecting the safety and sustainability of the ecological system. Therefore, the best alternative is to reuse and recycle as much as possible.

ISPA source: Greenhouse Gas (GHG):

10,000 mattresses and box springs, equates to approximately:

125 tons of steel
20 tons of wood
15 tons of foam

Environmental impact:

239 tons of CO2

Reducing CO2 emissions equivalent to 72 coal-fired plants