Ikea boosts sustainable services offering with launch of new mattress removal and recycling scheme

Ikea has announced the launch of a new UK mattress removal and recycling scheme.

Customers can book a collection, either online or in-store for £40 per item. Following collection, mattresses are transported to a dedicated recycling facility operated by Ikea partner, The Furniture Recycling (TFR) Group.

TFR Group diverts 100% of the mattresses it collects or receives from landfill, by deconstructing them manually using specialist cutting tools – enabling the materials to be separated into their component parts, which are then sanitised for onward processing.

In 2022, RetourMatras, a Netherlands-based mattress recycling company that is co-owned by Ingka Investments – the investment arm of Ingka Group, the largest Ikea retailer – acquired TFR Group. This has enabled the business to triple its dismantling capacity, which now stands at 1.5 million mattresses per year.

Ikea also plans to use TFR Group’s mattress rejuvenation service in the near future, which involves a bespoke sanitation process.

This ensures returned mattresses do not go to waste, and instead are cleaned to NHS standards and verified to be of as new quality, ready for resale at discounted prices or redistribution to support local communities.

The scheme builds on Ikea’s existing sustainable services offering.

This includes in-store areas, now known as ‘Re-shop and Re-use’, where Ikea can recycle and give products a second life, offering free spare parts and a range of affordable goods including discontinued items, ex-display articles and pre-loved furniture – traded back to Ikea through the BuyBack & Resell service. 

In addition to this, Ikea has recently piloted a new ‘car boot’ sale concept at its Milton Keynes and Cardiff stores, to support customers in repurposing their pre-loved belongings and giving them a new lease of life.

Greg Lucas, Sustainability Manager at Ikea UK, says: “We’re very excited to have our new mattress removal and recycling service up and running in collaboration with The Furniture Recycling Group, which is transforming old mattresses that would otherwise go to waste, back into valuable raw materials that can be used again and again.”

“Partnerships like this are crucial to overcoming long-term environmental challenges like mattress waste and advancing our People and Planet Positive journey, while supporting as many customers as possible in living a more sustainable life at home.”

Nick Oettinger, CEO and Founder at TFR Group, comments: “We are proud to support Ikea UK, helping to further strengthen the business’ sustainability offering through our mattress removal and recycling service.”

“By stripping each mattress back and recycling its component parts, together we are able to contribute to the circular economy and ensure that a bulky waste stream is recycled and diverted from landfill, delivering long-term environmental benefits.”