Soft Landing Mattress Recycling has been recognised as a leader in Western Australia’s circular economy, taking out the 2025 WasteSorted “Closing the Loop” Award for its work turning end-of-life mattresses into valuable resources.
The not-for-profit social enterprise and registered charity creates jobs for people facing barriers to work while diverting waste from landfill. Soft Landing WA State Manager Michael Pennington said the award is a proud moment for the Perth team and the community they serve:
“This award recognises the outstanding effort of our Wangara team – the people who get up every morning to collect and dismantle mattresses by hand. We’re showing that when you recycle the right way, you can create a positive impact for people, planet and communities and build a true circular economy.”
By manually dismantling mattresses rather than shredding them mechanically, Soft Landing achieves higher recovery rates and better material quality, while reducing energy use. Steel is recycled into new products, timber is mulched or reused, and foam is turned into carpet underlay.
In the past five years, Soft Landing Perth has:
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Recycled more than 500,000 mattresses and 30,000 whitegoods
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Diverted over 13,000 tonnes of waste from landfill
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Maintained an industry-leading 70% material recovery rate
“Our work is about helping councils and retailers meet their landfill diversion and sustainability targets while making recycling easy and accessible for the community. When councils partner with us, they can offer residents a responsible, affordable service — and that keeps mattresses out of streets, creeks and landfill,” Pennington said.
In 2024, Soft Landing Perth expanded to a larger Wangara site, doubling its recycling capacity. The team has now commenced diverting textile residuals to waste-to-energy, approaching its 100% landfill diversion goal.
Soft Landing’s work directly supports WA’s Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030.
“We’re proud to help WA progress toward its goal of becoming a sustainable, low-waste society and encourage more councils and retail partners to join us on the journey,” Pennington said.
About us:
Soft Landing is a national social enterprise that collects and recycles mattresses to keep waste out of landfill and create jobs for people experiencing barriers to work. For every 23 mattresses that we collect and recycle each day, we create a job for someone who really needs one.
www.softlanding.com.au
Contact details:
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES CONTACT
Rachel Walker
Communications and Marketing Manager
P: 0403 994 249
[email protected]
