I’ve done some time in waste handling, and about a decade ago I had the opportunity to work with a mattress recycling outfit. They had set up a disassembly line that would separate the various materials within a mattress, it was very interesting to see.

My memory is failing me now, but they were sending about half the material to some other outfit that used in it production of some kind. So at least some recycling was happening through them.

The mattress industry is wild even without managing the product’s end of life. So many of the same mattress get wrapped with slightly different fabric and stitch work and sold under a different name and whatnot. Personally when mine meets its end I’m going to try a tatami instead.