Eunomia Research and Consulting has announced that it will be providing technical support to Zero Waste Scotland and the National Bed Federation (NBF) on a project to assess extended producer responsibility (EPR) approach to improve mattress circularity in Scotland.
Eunomia will lend its expertise to find ways to provide more sustainable end-of-life treatment routes for the more than 600,000 mattresses entering landfill in Scotland every year and the many thousands of mattresses that end up illegally dumped.
Mattresses pose particular issues at their end of life due to their bulky size and the mixture of materials, including textiles, plastic and metal, that make it very difficult and sometimes dangerous to dismantle.
As part of its technical support, Eunomia will be looking at how the life cycle production of mattresses can be improved, as well as looking at the economic, environmental and equality impacts of proposed options for an eventual EPR scheme.
The work carried out by the project will support the development of a preferred option for a mattress EPR scheme for Scotland, based on evidence and the Scottish context.
The NBF has committed to diverting 75 per cent of all new mattresses from landfill by 2028 and recently published 10 key ecodesign principles to ensure the best possible design and sustainability outcomes for bed and mattress production across the UK.
The Scottish Government has placed great emphasis on the potential of EPR to improve the circularity of hard-to-recycle items such as mattresses in its circular economy strategy, underlining the role played by repair, remanufacturing and reuse.
Get our weekly digest
resource.co article ai
How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.