Niche Biz: BedBusters
Unusual Business Ideas That Work:
San Francisco-based BedBusters is focusing on a specific element of household garbage: mattresses. For about USD $100, the company will haul away a two-piece full-sized mattress set. Extra charges apply if the haulers must climb more than 18 stair steps, and removing bigger mattresses costs more.
Riding the eco wave, the mattress disposal service has incorporated an important green element. Once the mattress is carted away, it’s taken to a recycling centre where a machine grinds the mattress back into its basic elements of steel, wood and foam, all of which can be reused.
By contrast, many mattresses are simply taken to landfills and left to rot. A lot of mattresses, it turns out.
The International Sleep Products Association reports that just in the Duluth region of Minnesota in the US, more than 63,000 mattresses are dumped at landfills every year.
Elsewhere, many landfills no longer accept mattress drop-offs, or charge hefty fees. Which creates a growing niche for entrepreneurs.
Photo by BedBusters.
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