How can a mattress become circular? - Interview with Carolin-Luise Picht

One thing became immediately clear when talking to Carolin-Luise Picht: she is passionate about what she does. As Sustainability Transformation Manager at NEVEON, she is working to drive forward the sustainable development of our foam division. On the occasion of Global Recycling Day, we asked her what needs to happen for a mattress to become circular and what role recycling plays in this. 

How would you describe your job to someone who has never dealt with the topic of sustainability?

In my role as Sustainability Transformation Manager, I am responsible for ensuring that we at NEVEON are prepared for the future. My job is to ensure that we adhere to our sustainability strategy and achieve our goals. To this end, I support the organization in all matters relating to sustainability - be it customer inquiries, calculating carbon footprints or supporting projects and new product developments.

What has to happen for a mattress to become circular? 

A mattress can be more easily circular, meaning recycled, if it is made from as few different materials as possible. A mattress made from a so-called mono-core is best - a mattress core that consists of only one material and is neither glued nor contains foreign materials such as metal springs.

If we look at the system, it is currently the case that there is no established waste stream for mattresses in Austria. There is a designated recycling route for old newspapers, for example. However, mattresses are collected together with bulky waste and incinerated at the end of the day to generate energy. It must be possible to collect mattresses separately and the infrastructure must be in place to free mattresses from their covers, any innersprings or other foreign bodies. Only then can the polyurethane foam and the other raw materials be separated for recycling. Such a system with the necessary infrastructure does not yet exist in Austria because there is no legislation. This legislation is yet to come, but we at NEVEON are already addressing this issue in advance.

What role does recycling or recycled material play in our move towards circular products?

When we talk about circularity, we mean closing a cycle. Circular means that there is no more waste. Recycling plays a major role in this because it is the most established way of keeping materials in the loop.

One principle of the circular economy is to keep circles as small as possible. This means that the distance from the product's first life to its next life should be as short as possible. The shortest route is to wash a product. The next longest route is, for example, to buy a new cover or topper for the mattress so that it can be used for longer. Recycling comes into play as soon as a mattress has outlived its usefulness. Recycling is therefore one of many ways of keeping materials and products in the cycle.

At NEVEON, we already use recycled materials in our products, but they are relatively difficult to find on the market. Some raw materials that are available today can only be used in small quantities to ensure the best quality of our products. As a result, we currently have a low proportion of recycled raw materials in individual products. There are other processes that are currently being developed to obtain very high-quality raw materials. One example of this is our cooperation with BASF in the field of chemical recycling. 

Can you give us another example or project that shows how we can succeed in becoming a circular company? 

At NEVEON, we are now working on the design of the mattress, because we have control over that. What we have not been able to influence ourselves so far is the lack of a waste stream for mattresses. That's why we founded the joint venture LOOP-it together with a partner in waste management, BRANTER green solutions. LOOP-it is Austria's first mattress recycling company and aims to develop a mattress recycling process that is highly automated. This will enable us to save a large number of mattresses from incineration in Austria in the coming years.

Thank you very much for the exciting insights, Carolin-Luise!