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Rutherford County approves mattress-recycling partnership with Spring Back; residents to pay fee at convenience centers
Summary
Commissioners approved a county partnership with Spring Back to recycle mattresses and box springs; residents will be directed to convenience centers or the landfill and pay a fee to Spring Back; the agreement is contingent on final county-legal approval.
Rutherford County commissioners voted to accept a mattress-recycling partnership with Spring Back after county staff outlined the logistics and financial arrangement.
A county presenter identified as Matt told the commission the county manages roughly 21,000 mattresses and box springs a year, representing hundreds of haul trips and significant disposal space. Under the proposed agreement, residents would dispose of mattresses and box springs at designated convenience centers and the county landfill and pay a fee to Spring Back; Spring Back would furnish trailers, ramps, payment equipment, employee training, transportation and recycling services at its expense. The county's transfer station would stop accepting mattresses once the program launches.
Commissioners asked how payments would be handled. Spring Back representative Ryan Tiano explained attendants at convenience centers would operate Spring Back's handheld payment devices and payments would go directly to Spring Back; county staff would not handle money and the county would not receive a share of the transaction revenue. Staff estimated a public-education and setup period of six to eight weeks with a potential start around Aug. 1.
Spring Back described current capacity and expansion plans: the company said it has been operating for about 13 years, is based in the Nashville area and expects delivery of a processing machine purchased with the company's own funds in early July; that machine will increase processing capacity substantially. Spring Back said it employs people in recovery and other disenfranchised populations and currently has about 11 workers, with plans to expand as operations scale.
A motion to accept the Spring Back partnership passed in roll call with the agreement made contingent on final approval of contract language by county counsel Nick Christensen.
What this means: Residents will be directed to specific convenience centers (named by staff) and charged a per-item fee collected by Spring Back; the county will rely on Spring Back for equipment and processing while retaining oversight through contract language to be finalized by legal staff.
