H&S: New reactor plant for the recycling of end-of-life PU mattresses in the Netherlands

The German plant engineering company H&S Anlagentechnik GmbH announced that it has signed a contract with the Dutch recycling company RetourMatras to build a plant for the chemical recycling of discarded polyurethane mattresses. As from 2021, 1.5 million old mattresses are to be dismantled annually by RetourMatras in the Netherlands and Belgium.

A part of these mattresses will be recycled using process technology and know-how provided by H&S, and the Dutch company will supply a fully automated production line for dismantling the old mattresses. The reactor plant is scheduled to be commissioned in the end of 2021.

“With our chemical process for the generation of high-quality polyols from post-consumer mattresses, we offer a viable business model that will have a major impact on the environment,” said Ruediger Schaffrath, founder and Managing Director at H&S Anlagentechnik GmbH.

In Europe up to 30 million old mattresses end up in landfills or incinerators every year and are thus removed from the material cycle. If all mattresses were to be laid flat next to each other, that would correspond to the distance from Paris to Toronto, said H&S. The European Union is countering the amount of waste with an ambitious goal. By 2035, 65 % of all municipal waste is to be recycled. The new recycling technology of the German plant manufacturer can make a contribution to achieving this goal.

“With the H&S system, valuable recovered polyols can be generated enabling production of high-quality flexible and other PU foams," said Chico van Hemert, Operational Manager at RetourMatras, adding: “The H&S process allows us to chemically recycle different foam from various mattress manufacturers." The furniture industry can thus gain valuable secondary raw materials for the production of new PU foam and at the same time contribute to more sustainability, said H&S.

Ralf Knief, Managing Director Sales at H&S, said: “We at H&S are very pleased that more and more companies are attaching importance to reducing landfill and waste incineration costs.” To make mattresses recycling more efficient, Ralf Knief would like to see nationwide infrastructures for collecting the discarded mattresses.

For H&S, the industrial-scale reactor plant in Flevoland is a new order for the recovery of high-quality recycled polyols. As part of the Renuva mattress recycling programme of Dow, the H&S team supports Orrion Chemicals Orgaform from France with their sustainable system concept. The H&S plant engineers offer another upcycling solution with recycling plants for production waste. One of the biggest Polish PU slabstock foam manufacturers has been using the technology since 2013 and also recovers polyols from production waste. Mila Skokova, Product & Sales Manager at H&S, said: “We are currently receiving a large number of enquiries, especially from flexible foam manufacturers. In times of raw material scarcity, recovered polyols become the perfect solution to reduce production costs and increase competitiveness."

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About H&S Anlagentechnik H&S Anlagentechnik GmbH develops plant and process technologies for the efficient, flexible, production-safe and environmentally compatible storage, metering, mixing and formulation of polyurethanes, as well as for the chemical recycling of PU and PET waste. For 30 years, the plant manufacturer has been combining chemical expertise and technical production and developing individual solutions for customers from various industries. H&S Anlagentechnik GmbH stands for excellently trained engineers and chemists, international experience, modern production facilities and a worldwide network of sales partners.