Every year, 5 million mattresses are thrown away in France. If these are buried, they will take 100 years to decompose. Another option to dispose of them is incineration. However, when a mattress is burned, it releases VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that pollute the air and are toxic.
To avoid waste and pollution, Jérémie Adjedj created Ecomatelas. His company refurbishes mattresses to resell them to individuals at discounted prices.
This realization came to him when, as a teenager, Jérémie saw his uncle, a mattress salesman, renewing the almost new bedding of hotels… Together with his brother, they decided to collect these mattresses to sell them on LeBonCoin: “they sold like hotcakes and that’s when we realized there was a real market because many people simply cannot afford a good bed and even prefer to buy a second-hand mattress that isn’t necessarily very clean”, recalls the director of Ecomatelas.
Of course, to market these used mattresses, it was necessary to develop an effective method to sanitize them and comply with the strictest hygiene standards. “We invested over 400,000 euros in this research and development part to ensure we have a process that is really safe and secure for our end users”.
Jérémie Adjedj specifies that they combine several technologies that : “integrate both UV projection, high-temperature pulsed air projection, and industrial suction to clean both the surface (...) and disinfect deeply.”
A process designed with microbiological laboratories, but also with INELP (National Institute for Studies and the Fight against Bed Bugs).
“We have a mattress that is 99.9% free of bacteria and dust mites (...) that’s what we ask of hospitals!” he emphasizes. A mattress “is half the price compared to traditional mattresses.” Expect to pay less than 300 euros for a refurbished mattress.
