In France, nearly 5 million mattresses are sold each year, with an estimated average lifespan of 10 years. Ecomaison, an eco-organization responsible for giving household items and materials a second life, created the world’s first mattress recycling program in 2012. Thanks to this program, more than 9 out of 10 mattresses are now recycled or repurposed.
Let’s take a closer look at this collective success, driven by all stakeholders in the industry—from Ecomaison to manufacturers and consumers.
Just 15 years ago: 100% of mattresses were buried!
Today, thanks to Ecomaison’s creation of the first bedding recycling program, more than 9 out of 10 mattresses are recycled in France!
In 2025, Ecomaison collected nearly 5 million mattresses discarded by French consumers—that’s nearly 79,000 metric tons of metal, foam, latex, wool, and textiles processed for recycling and recovery.
Sorting and recycling are the first steps toward a circular economy, as they preserve materials and enable their reuse.
Ecomaison also promotes closed-loop recycling through the “recycled materials incorporation” incentive, a financial support program designed to bridge the cost gap between virgin and recycled materials. This initiative encourages companies to incorporate recycled materials into the manufacturing of new mattresses to reduce their carbon footprint, without affecting the price for the end consumer.
How do you recycle your mattress?
When a mattress reaches the end of its useful life, it must be disposed of through the Ecomaison program:
- by requesting that the old one be taken back when purchasing or receiving a new mattress;
- by dropping it off at one of the 6,000 designated mattress drop-off locations: a participating store or recycling center.
Once collected, the mattresses are dismantled: metal, foam, latex, and fabric are separated and then recycled or reused.
55% of the weight of a dismantled mattress is recycled to become a new raw material:
- The foam is reused in industry to manufacture bedding mats for livestock, acoustic underlayment, or new types of padding.
- The fabric is repurposed as industrial rags, insulation, or padding materials.
- The metal (springs) is sent to recycling facilities to be remelted.
And the overall recycling rate—including material recycling and energy recovery from the mattresses collected— is over 98 percent.
On average, a mattress contains 16.5 kg of materials that are put to good use.
A system that is structured throughout the region and funded by an environmental fee
The recycling organization is also expanding its home pickup service when a new mattress is delivered, in partnership with retailers. And to increase the mattress collection rate and maintain their quality, Ecomaison has implemented a logistics system specifically designed for this product stream. It involves transporting the collected and sorted mattresses directly to eight dismantling centers located throughout the country and under contract with the eco-organization.
Funding for the sector
The mattress collection and recycling program is funded through an eco-contribution. This is an environmental fee that must be displayed on the price tag and is used to cover the costs of collecting and recycling end-of-life mattresses. This amount is paid in full to Ecomaison, which invests it entirely in the program. The amount of the eco-contribution on mattresses can range from 3% to 5% of the retail price, depending on the type and material composition of the product purchased.