News
Auping and Van Gansewinkel take back old mattresses
27 June 2011
Koninklijke Auping and waste management services provider and supplier of raw materials Van Gansewinkel have jointly developed the ‘Auping Take Back System’ with which people can return old mattresses for recycling as raw materials for new products. The system represents the first step in applying the Cradle to Cradle principle to mattresses.
Renewability is a key theme in the Auping Take Back System. When a new Auping mattress is delivered, the old mattress is taken back and subsequently recycled by Van Gansewinkel. As a result, mattress components are given a second life as raw materials for new products. The mattress springs are, for example, melted down into reusable steel. Latex and foam rubber can be processed into, among other things, carpet underlay and judo mats. Van Gansewinkel will also optimise the waste management at Auping's production plants.
Closed cycle
The take back system is Auping's first step in applying the C2C principle to mattresses.The bed manufacturer wishes to reorganise its operating processes so that they are completely in line with contemporary ideas about C2C. The system will make Auping the first company in the bed sector that manufactures products in a closed cycle. Auping's goal for the next few years is to make all its products 100% recyclable whilst improving the sustainability and quality of its manufacturing operation at the same time.
Auping and Van Gansewinkel take corporate social responsibility seriously. According to Frank Auer, CEO of Koninklijke Auping, joining forces to develop a take back system was a logical step: “With the Auping Take Back System, the materials from mattresses are reused responsibly in ways that benefit the environment. It fits in with our company policy, which has the ultimate goal of producing everything according to the Cradle to Cradle principle.”
Roger Beuting, regional director of Van Gansewinkel, is pleased with the natural partnership with Auping. “Our vision is ‘Waste no more’ and that's something we are always eager to prove. With our expertise in components, recycling processes and logistics systems, we give waste a second life as raw materials for new products. It would be a shame to continue taking old mattresses to rubbish tips or incineration plants when we can process them into a large number of different, useable raw materials”.
The joint objective of Auping and Van Gansewinkel is to help combat the scarcity of raw materials and climate change. In virtually every case, recycling leads to a reduction in CO2 emissions. Both organisations are affiliated with the scientific Cradle to Cradle institute EPEA.
For more information about Cradle to Cradle, go to http://www.cradletocradle.nl/home/513_cradle-to-cradle.htm