Frequently asked questions
1. What is the difference with non-circular mattresses?
In most mattresses, the components are glued together for eternity, making it impossible to separate the different materials after use. This makes them unsuitable for reuse. With an Auping, every component can be separated independently, thanks to its modular design. In addition, many mattresses contain foam. Foam consists of a complex mix of different materials that cannot be reused at an equal level. It can only be downcycled. This means that new raw materials must be extracted from the earth continuously to produce new foam. Auping Evolve only contains materials that can be reused endlessly to produce new mattresses.
2. So does this mean I’m sleeping on a second-hand mattress?
Not at all. We guarantee that you’re sleeping on a new mattress. For us, fully circular means that we can repurpose the raw materials from each mattress in a high-quality way; therefore, we reuse these raw materials for new mattresses. All materials first undergo a process to finally form a new mattress. So you don’t have to worry about hygiene.
3. Is it possible to recycle mattresses that are dumped outside with the trash?
Chances are that mattresses placed on the street outside will get damp or even wet due to the weather. Spontaneous combustion can occur in wet mattresses, causing a mattress to catch fire. In addition, damp mattresses attract fungi that affect the various materials. This leaves little to no usable parts for recycling. And that's a shame. For this reason, old mattresses are always collected in a plastic return bag. This keeps the mattress clean and dry. In the Netherlands, 370.000 mattresses are discarded on the street every year, with the result that they cannot be processed properly.
4. How do you handle circular mattresses that come back? (return flow)
We have developed a mattress of which the materials can be reused time and again. Now it's time to optimise the recycling process and make it as efficient as possible. We do this together with our suppliers and material processors. In a number of years we will have set up a recycling process for the large numbers of circular mattresses that will be returned. We use the small numbers of Auping Evolve mattresses that have already been returned to Deventer to further optimise our recycling process.
More about the return flow of circular mattresses
5. So how do you recycle this circular mattress?
As soon as the mattress returns to Deventer, we separate the different parts. We then assess which parts are suitable for direct reuse, such as the pocket springs. Of course, these are cleaned, so they’re like new.
After that, all the steel goes to the steel recycling companies and all the polyester goes to the companies that recycle polyester. These plants melt down the polyester into granules from which threads are made, for example, to knit new ticking. The same granulate can also be processed into slightly thicker threads, of which the 3D comfort layer is knitted. Auping Evolve is brought all the way back to its two original raw materials, so that a new mattress can be made from them.
6. How did you make this new mattress?
In order to develop a modular mattress that is easy to separate after use, it is necessary to avoid the common foams and glues used in the mattress industry. Because foams and latex models cannot be processed without downcycling at the end of their lifespans, which causes huge amounts of waste. Together with Niaga®, we have developed a special bonding system using ‘Niaga® click-unclick adhesive’. This allows us to separate the individual parts of a mattress and to reuse them without losing value. Now that is circular.
7. More questions about the mattress Auping Evolve
Auping Evolve is a new mattress made from other materials. We have though carefully about this, but we can imagine that there are questions about this mattress. Find here the answers to the frequently asked questions about our circular mattress.
