Lancashire circular economy specialist secures European investment to boost sustainability

Mattress recycling and circular economy specialist, The Furniture Recycling Group (TFR Group) has secured an investment from Netherlands based mattress recycling company RetourMatras.

The partnership will enable TFR Group to grow its dismantling capacity to 1.5 million mattresses per year in England. The investment will support TFR Group in addressing the number of disposed mattresses in the United Kingdom, which has grown significantly over the last five years.

By leveraging the combined experience and knowledge of the companies, TFR Group can create economies of scale, further increase material recoverability and realise significant carbon emission savings.

The Furniture Recycling Group doubled its sales and workforce over the past four years and has recycled more than 3.5 million mattresses since 2012, with 30,000 tons of material flowing back into the economy. The company also rejuvenates mattresses, underpinning their commitment to key circular economy principles.

Using its bespoke rejuvenation process, TFR Group can ensure that all rejuvenated mattresses are of “as-new quality”, based on the criteria set with customers. Rejuvenation prevents valuable mattresses from ending up as waste, giving them a second life and keeping them in circulation.

Nick Oettinger, CEO and founder of TFR Group, commented: “We are constantly looking for opportunities to further our capabilities and are delighted to be partnering with RetourMatras. The investment is another step in the evolution of our business and will be instrumental in optimising and growing our recycling and rejuvenation processes.

“The investment will enable us to provide broader coverage of our services, as well as accelerating business growth and fast tracking our automation plans, ultimately driving down the cost of mattress recycling for our customers.”

RetourMatras dismantles mattresses and prepares the materials for reuse in the Netherlands. A self-developed, “state-of-the-art” automated process makes mattress recycling feasible and enables RetourMatras to substantially contribute to the recycling targets of the Netherlands.

Chico Van Hemert, managing director of RetourMatras, added: “We are very excited to be partnering with TFR Group as it enters its next phase of growth. TFR Group is a great example of entrepreneurship in the circular economy. By working together with players throughout the value chain, I truly believe that we can recycle more mattresses.”

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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