A Mattress Recycling Program

Enabling a Circular Economy for Polyurethanes by Dow

In Europe each year, around 30 million mattresses are discarded and around 60% of this bulky waste-stream ends up in landfill. The remainder is incinerated to produce heat and electricity. At present, waste-to-energy is the preferred technology for the treatment of end-of-life polyurethanes (PU) foam. However, incineration is a source of CO2 and a waste of valuable resources.

Through the RENUVA™ Mattress Recycling Program, Dow can recycle polyurethane foam from end-of-life mattresses which are converted back to its raw material ingredient, the polyol.

The Program has implemented the world’s first industrial scale reactor for chemical recycling in France. When operating at full capacity, the process will recycle polyurethane foam from up to 200,000 mattress per year. This recycled polyol will offer exceptional performance, making it ideal for a range of rigid and flexible foam applications e.g., mattresses.

Helping to Reduce the environmental footprint

According to a recent external Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) RENUVA™ polyols offer the potential for a significant reduction in the environmental footprint associated with polyols. A key observation was that the RENUVA™ process leads to a 54% equivalent CO2 reduction compared to the standard polyol production.