A Message from the CEO

There is a great deal of impactful work underway across bedding stewardship. One issue now sits above everything else: responsibility for the products the bedding industry places on the Australian market.

I want to speak plainly about where the industry stands and what must happen next.

Moving Australia’s bedding sector from a linear model to a circular one is a significant undertaking. It requires investment, collaboration and changes to how products are designed, sold, recovered, reused and recycled.

The ABSC and its members are making progress. During FY26, our approved recycler network processed more than 1.1 million mattresses. Mattress recycling commenced in Tasmania, and we have worked to improve access across Central and Northern Queensland.

That progress has not been without setbacks. One regional Queensland recycler has already closed, highlighting just how fragile recycling services can be when operating costs are high and viable markets for recovered materials remain limited.

We have also strengthened data and reporting, developed practical tools for members and continued work to create stronger markets for recovered materials.

Reuse is becoming a greater part of the solution. Many mattresses have been diverted to people in need through ABSC-facilitated reuse programs, while Better Bedding for Hotels and Top of Bed are creating further pathways for products and materials that have traditionally gone straight to landfill.

Our members should be proud of that progress. The strong FY27 renewal response demonstrates continued confidence in the scheme.

This current position is not fair, and it is not sustainable.

Every mattress sold in Australia will eventually require reuse, recovery, or disposal. That cost does not disappear when the product leaves the store or arrives at a customer’s door.

When a business places bedding products on the Australian market without contributing to their end-of-life management, someone else pays. The burden falls on local councils, recyclers, Australian taxpayers and the businesses already funding the scheme.

Our current membership base should not continue to carry an obligation created by the entire market.

Why broader participation matters

Persistent non-participation creates immediate problems.

Limits Sustainability Outcomes: Non-participation across the industry disadvantages the businesses already investing in responsible outcomes. ABSC members fund the research, coordination, data, recycler assurance and policy work needed to identify appropriate infrastructure and develop viable recovery pathways, including solutions for difficult materials such as memory foam.

Weakens the Industry-led Model: Non-participation weakens the viability of the industry-led model. Strong renewals are welcome, but the voluntary funding base remains too narrow for the work now expected of the scheme.

Limits Policy Influence: Non-participation limits the industry’s influence over what comes next. Mattresses remain on the Australian Government’s product stewardship priority list, and the national stewardship framework is under review. Governments are entitled to ask whether the whole sector is taking responsibility, not just the businesses that have already stepped forward.

This is not an argument against regulation. The ABSC is advocating for policy settings that deal with non-participation, support viable end markets and give industry a meaningful role in developing practical solutions.

We Need Your Voice and Action

The next phase of bedding stewardship requires the full force of our industry. We value the challenge from our members to do more, but we need every major business at the table to protect and advance an industry-led model.

Whether you are a long-standing member or a brand evaluating your role in the sector’s future, now is the time to step forward.

To our members: thank you. Continue to use the scheme, share why your organisation participates and help bring more of the industry into the conversation.

To businesses that remain outside the scheme: speak with me. Tell me what is preventing your participation. Let’s determine the workable pathway for your business to contribute.

We must demonstrate that the Australian bedding industry is organised, accountable and capable of leading its own circular transition. Responsibility cannot continue to sit with only part of the market.

Kylie Roberts-Frost
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Bedding Stewardship Council