The initiative, which will be jointly funded by the Welsh Government, the council and Innovate UK, launched on Monday (14 November) and aims to discover an ‘economically and environmentally sustainable’ solution to mattress recycling.
Potential bidders have been asked to record an interest via a tender invitation launched yesterday.
According to the organisations, the potential process will use waste heat from an existing food waste treatment process, in a range of 70-90 degrees celsius, which in theory could sterilise mattress textiles for recycling, the funding partners have said.
Based in the south of Wales, Rhondda Cynon Taf council has developed a semi-automated process for deconstructing mattresses to recover the textiles and metals.
However, while the council has found markets for separated steel springs – which makes up around 50% of the product – textile recycling companies are ‘put off’ by the levels of contamination that arise in mattress fibres, the council claims.
As a result the council has been forced to send all separated textiles and foam materials for incineration.
Fund
The fund will look to create value from ‘low grade textiles, wadding and foams’ with successful applicants demonstrating these materials can be treated to form a feedstock safe for use in recycling applications.
The winning innovation should be capable of recycling ‘at least 75%’ of the material stream but should not rely on landfilling the remainder of the material.
The idea should also make a positive financial contribution to mattress deconstruction, such as through providing a material rebate, in the region of £10 per tonne, potential bidders have been informed. The project should also be demonstrated at the council’s Bryn Pica waste management facility.
Heat
The Welsh Government has contributed £227,500 worth of funding to the scheme in order to develop plans to use waste heat from an existing food waste treatment plant to heat water to sterilise the mattress textiles.
The pilot scheme, run through the Small Business Research Initiative, could create jobs and produce savings for the local authority, according to the Government.
Announcing the funding, cabinet secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths, said: “I am pleased we are supporting this innovative recycling project and competition. If successful, the project will see an increase in market demand for waste mattress textiles, a market which is severely underdeveloped in Wales and the UK.
“If successful, the project will see an increase in market demand for waste mattress textiles.”
Lesley Griffiths, cabinet secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs
Welsh Government
“Wales is leading the way with recycling in the UK and is well on course to meet its 70% recycling rate by 2025. However, we can always do more and it is through thinking creatively and devising sustainable solutions that we can become the highest recycling nation in Europe.”
‘Success’
Councillor Ann Crimmings, cabinet member for Environment, Leisure & Culture at Rhondda Cynon Taf, added: “We continually strive to recycle more waste in Rhondda Cynon Taf and reduce the amount being sent to landfill. Our mattress recycling service has proved to a great success, since its launch four years ago, however this competition will mark an important step forward for the scheme and build on the core of our values in Rhondda Cynon Taf to recycle as much as we possibly can.”
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