Mattress Recycling in Vancouver

Until few years ago, residents of Vancouver could dispose of their mattresses in very inexpensive way. Mattresses were treated just like any other garbage. Junk Removal companies were charging fees in the range of $40 to $50 per mattress or box spring. Most of the expense derived from fuel and labour cost.
For some Vancouver residents, the disposal rate was too much and there was the occasional mattress left at the back alley in the middle of the night. Nonetheless, this was a rare event.
However, things were about to change.

Someone with great vision, proposed to recycle the springs from each mattress. Removing these springs is not an easy task. It takes anywhere between 5 min and half an hour. I have personally tried it few times and it was not worth it. The city of Vancouver had to find ways to pay for that labour so an additional fee was introduced. Twenty dollars for each mattress or a box spring. At that point, every citizen of Vancouver had to pay extra for each mattress disposed. That cost spiked the disposal fees for mattresses for all Junk Removal companies operating in Vancouver. Rates went from $40 to $70 overnight. It was even more expensive for clients disposing of mattress and a box spring. In most cases it is a combo that it is needed to be disposed of. That was just the beginning of issues with this new mattress recycling program in Vancouver.

In few months mattresses started to appear at backstreets and alleys. Many businesses also had to deal with illegally dumped mattress at their back yard. The reason was clear. People were not willing to pay the outrageous rates Junk Removal companies were charging. The companies were not to blame. They were just passing additional expenses created by the city of Vancouver. It seems managers of the recycling strategy in this city failed at economy 101 again. How much metal can we really recycle from a mattress. The amount of recyclable material in a mattress is not worth the labour cost and the other issues that it creates because of this new program.

Another issue followed. The Vancouver management began playing with the definition of what a mattress is. People began complaining that they were charged recycling fees for foam mattresses and couch mattresses. There are is no metal in these types of mattresses. When the transfer station started to charge for camping mattress, that was too much. The city had to back away and rethink the idea of using this program to make money. Complaints followed and now only real mattresses carry recycling fee.
It is important to understand that before we can praise recycling programs of this sort, we should look into the numbers.