FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Karin Mahoney
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Belmont University’s Spring Back Program Recycles Mattresses, Creates Jobs
Alexandria, VA (September 27, 2012) – International Sleep Products Association President Ryan Trainer today commended the student team from Belmont University that will represent the United States in the upcoming SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) World Cup, an international competition featuring students who have created businesses in their communities that allow them to acquire skills to become socially responsible leaders.
At the World Cup, to be held in Washington, DC, September 30-October 2, national champion teams from the United States and 38 other countries will compete for the title.
The Belmont University team won the U.S. SIFE competition earlier this year with the innovative Spring Back Recycling program that the students developed to recycle used mattresses. Spring Back is both helping the environment and creating jobs. Through the program, previously incarcerated workers are taught the skills they need to gain employment at Spring Back’s recycling facility, where mattresses are dismantled and their component materials are recycled for use in new products.
“On behalf of the mattress industry, I applaud the Belmont University students for winning the U.S. SIFE competition and now representing the United States at the SIFE World Cup. We wish them the very best,” Trainer said. “These students have created a sustainable, effective, and market-based business model for recycling used mattresses that ISPA whole heartedly supports. We firmly believe a national mattress recycling program that encourages the growth of businesses like Spring Back will benefit from important economies of scale, as opposed to the inefficiencies and added costs that piecemeal, state-based legislation would create.”
With millions of mattresses sent to landfills each year, where they take up large amounts of space, the need for mattress recycling is great.
Trainer added, “When the Belmont students began to plan their program, the mattress industry was pleased to help out with information about the industry, other recyclers and possible markets for the used steel, foam and other recycled materials. But it was the students’ commitment, initiative and creativity that has made Spring Back a success, both as a business and in the SIFE competition.”
For more information about ISPA’s position on federal mattress recycling, click here. For more information about Spring Back, click here. For more information about Belmont SIFE, click here. For more information about SIFE World cup, click here.
About the International Sleep Products Association:
Established in 1915, the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the growth, profitability and stature of the mattress industry. As the industry’s trade organization, ISPA represents nearly 700 mattress manufacturers and suppliers throughout the world.
ISPA provides a wide range of services that benefit its membership. These include exclusive industry surveys and statistics, advocacy support, educational offerings, the industry’s ISPA EXPO trade show, safety research through its Sleep Products Safety Council, consumer research and education through its Better Sleep Council, BedTimes and Sleep Savvy publications, the ISPAEarth Industry Sustainability Initiative, and more.
To learn more, visit www.sleepproducts.org or contact [email protected].
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