Sustainable Fire Safety – The mattress case study
Fidra are working with industry representatives across the UK mattress supply chain to improve product circularity through effective and sustainable chemical management. Using evidence-based research and stakeholder engagement, this case study aims to demonstrate workable solutions to reduce reliance on harmful chemical flame retardants and develop standards for greater chemical transparency along supply chains.
The Mattress Industry
An estimated 6.4 million mattresses were disposed of in the UK in 2020. To stimulate improved waste management, the National Bed Federation are working towards a target of diverting 75% of mattresses from landfill by 2028. Bulky waste items, including mattresses, were also listed as priority items for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes in England’s 2018 Waste Strategy.
Chemical flame retardants present a significant barrier to product circularity. This was highlighted in new research commissioned by the Environment Agency which identified high levels of decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE), a chemical flame retardant now restricted under Annex A of the Stockholm Convention, in UK waste upholstered domestic seating. Affected items are now required to be incinerated, rather than reused or recycled. The known historical use of decaBDE in mattresses prior to its restriction, alongside emerging evidence connecting alternative chemical flame retardants, such as tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) and tris(1,3-dichloroisopropyl) phosphate (TDCPP), with similar human and environmental health effects, demonstrates a significant and ongoing challenge for mattress recycling
Working towards Solutions
Chemical flame retardant use in mattresses highlights the potential impacts of chemicals of concern within recycling initiatives, as well as an opportunity to demonstrate workable solutions. Options such as increased chemical transparency and traceability, changes to the Furniture and Furnishing (Fire) (Safety) Regulations (1988), and Extended Producer Responsibility schemes (EPRs) could help reduce reliance on CFRs, incentivize innovative and sustainable product design, and support successful long-term recycling initiatives.
Fidra are continuing to work with industry experts towards effective solutions. For further information on opportunities to input, please contact Fidra directly via info@fidra.org.uk.
