New collaboration based on shared community and environmental service goals
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —–July 2019 —–The Mattress Recycling Council’s (MRC) Bye Bye Mattress Program, Los Angeles Conservation Corps (LA Corps) and City of Los Angeles are forming an innovative collaboration to support the recycling of unwanted and illegally-dumped mattresses in Los Angeles’ West San Fernando Valley communities.
“Together, we are collecting mattresses so that they can be broken down and turned into everyday items such as carpet padding and mulch,” said MRC’s Managing Director Mike O’Donnell. “This saves valuable space in the state’s landfills and supports California’s globalleadership in the green economy.”
Through the collaboration, workers with Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment (LA Sanitation) will bring mattresses collected from San Fernando Valley curbside collection routes, as well as those illegally dumped in the area, to the department’s West Valley District Yard. LA Corps provides the labor at the site and prepares the mattresses for transport to a recycling facility.MRC’s Bye Bye Mattress Program financially supports the endeavor, which recycled more than1,400 mattresses in its first month.
“This collaboration with the Mattress Recycling Council further enhances our ability to offer Corpsmembers the chance to develop skills such as leadership and teamwork while also reinforcing the importance of conservation. We are excited for such a terrific opportunity,” said LA Corps CEO Wendy Butts.
Founded in 1986, the LA Corps serves the greater Los Angeles basin and San Fernando Valley area and is the largest urban conservation corps in the country. The Corps exemplifies the commitment to civic and environmental causes shared by all conservation service corps around the nation. The LA Corps becomes the fourth independent conservation corps in California to join the Bye Bye Mattress network. In 2018, MRC established working relationships with the Urban Corps of San Diego County; Conservation Corps North Bay in Marin and Sonoma County; and Greater Valley Corps, which serves San Joaquin, Stanislaus and other Central Valley counties.
Mattress Recycling Council Announces New Alliance with Los Angeles Conservation Corps
For more information on California mattress recycling, including mattress drop-off locations and events, visit the Recycling Locator on ByeByeMattress.com.
About Mattress Recycling Council and Bye Bye Mattress
The Mattress Recycling Council was formed by the mattress industry to operate recycling programs (known as Bye Bye Mattress) in states which have enacted mattress recycling laws –California, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Since its inception in 2016, the program has recycled more than 3.5 million mattresses in California through a network of partnerships with local governments, solid waste facilities, nonprofit organizations and small and minority-owned businesses throughout the state. For more information, go to www.ByeByeMattress.com.
About Los Angeles Conservation Corps
The LA Conservation Corps, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, provides at-risk young adults and school-aged youth with opportunities for success through job skills training, education and work experience with an emphasis on conservation and service projects that benefit the community.
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