Spring Back Recycling

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Spring Back's mission is to employ recently out-of prison men by way of recycling used mattresses and their component parts. It is an economically sustainable model for training disenfranchised through recycling.

Standings & Awards

422 out of 422 in North America
272 out of 272 in Environment
573 out of 573 in Pilot
1066 out of 1066 in Blended
4003 out of 4003 Overall

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VOTES

Spring Back Recyling

Spring Back employs and trains disenfranchised men and diverts thousands of tons of material from landfills.

Background Every year, over 30 million mattresses are sent to landfills in the USA. Each day, 20 miles of mattresses are disposed of. Annually, 7,300 miles of mattresses are thrown away. Because of their large size and low density, mattresses are not space efficient for such landfills. On top of their bulky nature, mattress springs are notorious for getting caught in landfill equipment and causing expensive damages to bulldozers, loaders, and other trucks. Considering the value of raw materials in a mattress, it is apparent that this potentially valuable asset is wreaking havoc in a multitude of areas.

Vision Spring Back believes that by collecting, deconstructing, and recycling mattresses, it can greatly reduce the negative impact of used bedding. Furthermore, by partnering with organizations that employ homeless and disenfranchised people, Spring Back believes that this lucrative venture can empower individuals by providing employment, skills training, and access to the first rung of the development ladder.

Method The Spring Back model is built on a framework that pulls supply from retailers, institutions and individuals. The collected mattresses are disassembled, and then the raw materials are sold to aftermarket recyclers. Income is generated by charging on the front end, then selling raw materials after disassembly.

Mattress retailers that solicit a pick-up service for old mattresses are charged a fee per mattress to recycle them, and are then provided with customizable marketing materials that advertise their environmental and social responsibility. Individuals that would like for their mattress to be picked up on an individual basis can pay to drop their mattresses off at the disassembly warehouse.

Once the mattresses are in the warehouse, men work to disassemble the mattress by separating the cotton, foam, mixed rags, metal, and wood, and bale them so they are ready to be picked up by commodity buyers. Through this process, they attain gainful employment, receive skills training, and gain insight into small business principles.

Progress Thus Far Spring Back was piloted for 6 months with the support of Mattress Unlimited. In this period, we recycled more than 2,800 mattresses, and diverted over 75,000 lbs of steel from landfills.

Roadmap to Success Optional (1 - 3 minutes to upload)

Roadmap to Success:

roadmap_to_success.doc

FIVE PROJECT QUESTIONS Required (60 - 90 minutes)

1. What is your innovation?

In this project, we have found a model with a truly sustainable triple-bottom-line, which can be scaled across the country. As a business, it is financially viable. Socially, it is transforming the lives of men that have recently been released from prison. Environmentally, it provides quantifiable improvements to the use of land and the amount of material being recycled in each region.

2. Who gains the most?

The men who are working on this project receive employment and skills training that will allow them to successfully pursue their own interests after their time with Spring Back has ended. Retailers and institutions that partner with Spring Back receive marketing materials that allow them access to a new market, which improves their profitability. Consumers gain an opportunity to recycle used bedding in regions where that was not previously available. Landfills are able to avoid bulky waste.

3. Who pays?

Spring Back is unique because of its economic viability as a competitive business. Individuals are able to pay to recycle their used bedding, which wasn't available before in this region. Retailers and institutions (such as hotels) pay a recycling fee to practice environmental sustainability, which they receive Green Marketing materials for. Landfills are even attracted to this service, and are willing to give up revenue by referring interested people to Spring Back.

4. What is your success?

12 Month: Assuming Spring Back recycles 450 mattresses a week, which is a reasonable average that considers fluctuations in the market Mattresses Recycled: 21,600 Metal Diverted: 475,000 lbs Men Employed Full Time: 5-6 Paid-Out Income: $69,120 (approx) 3 Year: Assuming 2 Franchises;1,350 Mattresses Per Week Recycled:151,200 Diverted:3,326,400 Employed:15-25 Income:$483,800 5 Years: Assuming 5 Franchises Recycled:370,000 Diverted:8 Million Employed:30-45 Income:$1,175,000

5. How will you do it?

Expanding is relatively simple. After a franchise manual has been completed, we have already received offers from community programs in cities across the nation, as well as mattress retailers and producers that are interested in using this service on a large scale. After about a 3-month training period has been completed with an identified community partner, assuming they are in contract with a supplier, the partner will be running and profitable.