Dozens of mattresses were dropped off at the first mattress recycling event in Eau Claire.

260 mattresses were collected on Saturday, August 3rd. All of them are now off to a 7 Rivers Recycling in La Crosse where they will stay out of the landfill.

The foam, fabrics, wood, and metals are all able to still be reused.

Kersten Family Junk Removal in Eau Claire said mattresses are a particular environmental problem since they are large and don't compact well, meaning the average queen mattress occupies 27 cubic feet in the local landfill.

The springs in standard mattresses can also damage landfill equipment, increasing landfill maintenance costs for the community.

Mattress recycling dramatically reduces landfill utilization, making local landfills sustainable for longer periods of time.

Courtesy : wqow.com