UK's prisons go to the mattress for recycling
03 April 2009
Competition to recycle more
The Prison Service has won international praise for taking the innovative step of recycling the old mattresses it produces into carpet underlay, fencing and even roof tiles.
According to the National Audit Office, the Prison Service is producing enough old mattresses each year to fill 30 double-decker buses.
A competition run by the National Audit Office was launched to find a "zero-waste" solution that also cost less money than current disposal methods. The Prison Service is currently looking at several proposals to implement the scheme.
