“Every year, we throw away enormous quantities of mattresses in Norway. We saw major potential in creating a system that could turn this waste into resources through reuse and recycling,” says Lennert Hug, founder of ReMadrass.
ReMadrass’ ambitious project, supported by The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund, aims to establish a national system for the reuse and recycling of mattresses. The concept is entirely new to the Nordic market and represents an important step towards a more circular economy in Norway.
From waste to valuable resources
With 19,000 tonnes of plastic and 8,000 tonnes of textiles from mattresses ending up as waste annually in the Nordic region, ReMadrass aims to make a difference. By collecting and reusing 10,000 mattresses in the first phase of the project, both waste volumes and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced.
“Each mattress we save spares the environment up to 10 kilos of plastic and 100 kilos of CO₂. Mattresses often consist of foam and textiles with a high plastic content. This makes the reuse of each mattress a significant environmental saving,” says Hug.
The ReMadrass system consists of several phases:
- Mapping and collection
Mattresses will be collected from furniture retailers, hotels and municipal waste reception facilities. IKEA Norge is playing a key role in the pilot phase by providing collection points for mattresses returned under the comfort guarantee. - Demonstration facility in Jevnaker
A pilot facility has been built in Jevnaker, capable of processing several thousand mattresses annually. Here, the mattresses will be disinfected, UV-treated and prepared for reuse. Those that cannot be reused will be recycled, with plastic, textiles and other materials separated and used again. - Awareness and information
To ensure the success of the project, it is crucial to inform consumers about the value of reuse and recycling. In collaboration with IKEA and Hadeland og Ringerike Avfallsselskap (HRA), ReMadrass is planning an information campaign to increase awareness of and engagement with the project.
- Mapping and collection
Collaboration for change
The project is built on strong collaboration between organisations such as IKEA Norge, Retourmatras and Hadeland og Ringerike Avfallsselskap (HRA). With a pilot facility at Jevnaker and trials of collection points at IKEA, the foundation is being laid for a full-scale reuse and recycling system.
IKEA plays a crucial role in the project through its comfort guarantee, which makes it easy for customers to return mattresses they are not entirely satisfied with within 90 days.
“The comfort guarantee means that we get many thousands of mattresses returned every year. Unfortunately, we have previously not had a good solution for handling these. They have been incinerated, which has both a major environmental footprint and is costly. With ReMadrass, we now have a partner that can give these mattresses a new lease of life,” says Siri Nordhagen, Sustainability Manager at IKEA Norway.
The mattresses can now be sent to ReMadrass for cleaning and quality control. After treatment, they are sold as cleaned and packaged mattresses in IKEA’s second-hand stores, labelled as quality-assured and available at a reduced price.
Nordhagen adds:
“The collaboration with ReMadrass has been a pleasure. We have had to find new solutions together, and the result is a win-win-win situation. Customers get a quality product at a good price, we reduce waste and costs, and we save CO₂ emissions and material resources. This is a solution we are proud of.”
A look to the future
By 2026, ReMadrass aims to establish a nationwide collection scheme with more than 100 collection points and the recycling of 100,000 mattresses annually. This will save more than 5,000 tonnes of plastic, 2,000 tonnes of textiles and 60,000 tonnes of CO₂ each year.
“Our major goal is to be able to reuse and recycle all the mattresses discarded annually in Norway,” says Hug.
ReMadrass and their partners are demonstrating that there are solutions for managing a major waste problem in a sustainable way. With support from The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund, they are well on their way to creating a circular system that benefits both the environment and consumers.
