Over 100 mattresses a week being dumped into landfill

Derry City & Strabane District Council has already carried out a pilot study to record information on how many mattresses are being processed through its bulky lift collections and recycling centres. Over a six-week period from mid-February to the end of March this year, around 1,000 mattresses were registered at amenity sites in Derry, with a further 381 at recycling centres in Strabane.

In terms of bulky lifts, an average of 106 mattresses are being lifted by council workers every week.

The council is now looking at a six month pilot mattress recycling project, after looking into a successful recycling scheme at Belfast City Council.

A report brought before the May meeting of the Council’s Environment & Regeneration Committee reported that: “The officer team are at present progressing with a detailed cost analysis of a similar scheme for the Derry/Strabane area.”

UUP Councillor Derek Hussey said there should be an obligation on all retailer to lift old mattresses, as some were now doing. Speaking about the proposed scheme, he added: “I hope it is not a case of sending off these mattresses to Belfast.”

He elaborated that it would be better to set up a processing plant locally “so we can have some people employed” as well as getting business from other councils.