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before the deadline, the Netherlands’ five largest manufacturers
and importers of mattresses – IKEA, Beter Bed, Auping, Swiss
Sense and Hilding Anders – informed the Ministry of Infrastructure
and Water Management of their intention to engage in a voluntary
EPR. This is expected to increase the rate of recycling from its
current 35% to 60% in 2025 and 75% by 2028. The State Secretary
is currently working with the sector on transitioning the initiative
from voluntary to binding in 2021, at which point all manufacturers
and importers would be required to participate.
Effects include a significantly larger proportion of discarded mattresses
being recycled instead of incinerated and raw materials
producers (e.g. DSM and Dow Chemical) being incentivised to make
their materials more recyclable. Besides mattress manufacturers,
the partners involved in the execution are the municipal cleaning
departments, the branch organisation of mattresses, recyclers,
governments, mattress retailers, raw material suppliers and research
institutions.
Conditions for Success
Participants came to a financial agreement which implied an
additional fee on new mattresses. They also set five conditions for
success.
Innovation
Innovation is key to meeting the targets. One producer (Auping)
has already introduced a new fully recyclable mattress together
with DSM-Niaga. Emphasis is not only on redesigning mattresses,
but also on using mechanical recycling methods. This sets an
example for the entire sector. Pyrolysis Recycling Initiative for
Mattresses (PRIMA), another sub-initiative, is exploring options for
the chemical recycling of discarded mattresses. Dutch mattress
recycler RetourMatras and IKEA have also begun developing
chemical recycling technologies. These innovative efforts primarily
address better recycling designs, of foam in particular. The next
step, which is not spelled out in the EPR, is to redesign mattresses