Mattress recycling business outgrows old location

It takes 23 cubic feet of dirt to bury an old mattress in a landfill.
Because mattresses are large, awkward and difficult to fit into a recycling bin, thousands of mattresses a year end up in dumps around the province.
Dennis Widenmaier, owner of Mattresses R Us, saw this and took it upon himself to rectify the situation, and created Moose Jaw Enviro Mattress Depot Inc.
"When I sold a mattress and picked up an old one . . . well, I've always been into recycling and I didn't want to chuck it away," said Widenmaier. "So I started trying to find ways, markets that could handle this recycled product."
In the beginning, Widenmaier ran the dismantling and recycling program out of the back of his mattress store, but the operation quickly outgrew that space.
The mattress depot processes on average between 150 and 200 pieces per month, except during what he called mattress season (June-August), when it handles upwards of 300. Nearly 90 per cent of the recycling process is manual.
Having outgrown the old site, the mattress depot has recently moved to the former National Light and Power building.
"It was in a good spot and it's a big building, so we recycled that too," said Widenmaier.
Widenmaier's company has a contract with the City of Moose Jaw to salvage mattresses from the landfill. He said nearly 100 per cent of the material in these mattresses is recyclable.
"Now, instead of spending 25 years . . . in a landfill decomposing, these will be dismantled and separated into their various parts," said Widenmaier.
The springs are made of valuable tempered steel and the planks in box springs are bundled together and sold as firewood or fence posts. Layers of cotton and felt are all recyclable and foam is reused as carpet backing. Widenmaier himself sanitizes the top quilts and fashions them into horse blankets.
Another service Widenmaier is planning to offer will see an old shipping crate refurbished to function as an incinerator for mattresses that are considered biohazards, such as those from hospitals and correctional institutions.
"We're going to start working on contacting mattress manufacturers, hotels, and the Cities of Saskatoon and Regina as well," said Widenmaier.
Tuesday, Widenmaier was pleased to witness a milestone for his company as it received its first shipment from outside of Moose Jaw.
Forty mattresses were delivered for recycling from Sleepers Mattress Factory in Saskatoon.
At a time when people are more green conscious, Widenmaier hopes to see his recycling program continue to grow.

Sarah Swenson can be reached at 691-1255.

Mooose Jaws COW: - September 18th, 2009 at 18:00:21

Drop it off at the hospital and maybe, just maybe we could see an improvement in our services.
Once there the staff will call the ambulance and dispose of the offending article.
Boy this Province gets smarter by the Moose Jaw Minute

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What?: - September 18th, 2009 at 17:36:33

So let me get this straight, this guy is an independant business man who took it upon himself to start a recycling program.

And he is being condemned because you can't drop off garbage at his matress store where the recycling no longer takes place.

And he is some how to blame for other peoples laziness and lack of concern for recycling.

I hate this town.

happy: - September 18th, 2009 at 17:32:39

I commend anyone who is recycling things to save our landfills and put someone else' s trash to good use. Come on Moose Jaw citizens and do your part. You'll feel better if you do ! RECYCLE !! RECYCLE !!

Jimmy: - September 18th, 2009 at 17:26:51

This reminds me of the comments under the story about Silver Star recycling where people were mad because SS wouldn't pay for people's scrap, but you could leave it there for free or pay to leave it at the dump. Nobody's happy. I can't wait to see the bitching if the T-H does a story on McDonald's free coffee.

Jimmy: - September 18th, 2009 at 17:11:59

Humberto's right! Widenmaier should work for free! Another thing that bothers me is that food, clothing, and rent aren't free! How can we be lazy bums when we have to pay for stuff? [/sarcasm]

Since it is Earth Day, lets just dump all our mattresses in behind Humberto's rental units? Let him work for free to get rid of them!

Humberto D: - September 18th, 2009 at 16:28:26

I am not blaming the owner odf this business.....
aLL i AM SAYING IS THAT SINCE THIS POLICY STARTED WE SEE MORE AND MORE MATTRESSES BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.... oops.... caps lock....

Humberto D: - September 18th, 2009 at 16:03:10

I applaud your initiative but the whole process is a joke.

If it was really all about the environment and keeping mattresses out of the landfill, then you would accept drop offs at your store.

Instead, one is forced to pay the city an exorbitant fee. What you refer to as mattress season is really MATTRESS LYING IN THE DITCH season.

I would also like for someone to explain why they charge for a mattress yet one can basically go dump a whole living room set (which I assume uses much more landfill space) with no added cost above the normal dump fees.

SO either 3we are subsidizing your business, or the city is ripping us off and maybe you as well.

G: - September 18th, 2009 at 15:55:55

Humberto D, totally agree with your comment.
I feel it's time for a major overhaul on our whole waste disposal program.
Outside of Sarcan our recycling program is a joke.
The current policy in place for dump fees is not working...proof, I have seen the waste scattered along roads and ditches and streets continually get worse over the last few years.
This is not about one individual or single business, it is about a process that is clearly not working.

Humberto D: - September 18th, 2009 at 15:47:41

I never said he worked for free.... And I pay my 10 dollars if I have a mattress. You guys are missing the point.

The point is this:

If he is recycling the mattresses, then why should not one be able to drop it off at his store.....

We do not do the same for appliances. Five star salvage gladly takes washers, dryers, etc. Yet some people continue to take theirs to the dump.

The reality that the two previous posters do not want to see is that since this policy was enacted, we find mattresses on grid roads, the road leading to dump, and the road to the old wild animal Park. That is a reality.
Nowhere in my post did I say he had to recycle them for free.....

I: - September 18th, 2009 at 15:46:08

Boo Hoo, Humberto has to fork over ten bucks when some deadbeat leaves a mattress in one of his slums.

Mattresses don't come apart on their own, someone has to cover the labor to dismantle them, and the gas to move them around. Quit whining.

I'll give you the furniture though, that is just as much a waste. maybe you could start up that business, since your so concerned.