Shred of the Month - January 2006: Mattresses/Box Springs

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January 2006 - Mattresses/Box Springs

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The Challenges

Shredding mattresses and box springs represents a unique challenge. The shredder and hopper need to be large enough to accept the bulky material. The cutter diameter needs to be large enough to grab the material, and the machine powerful enough to shred it. Mattresses and box springs are comprised of a variety of materials that all process differently—fabric, foam padding, metal springs, and wood. While the wood fractures easily, the foam padding can be dense and compressible, making it tough to shred. And the springs must be cleanly sheared to minimize build-up or ‘bird nesting’ downstream, and to prevent wrapping around the shafts.

The Solution

In this case, we used a Dual-Shear™ shredder with a 63” length cutting chamber. It was large enough to accept whole mattresses and powerful enough (100HP minimum) to shred through the foam and wire. The ‘cleaning fingers’ between each cutter prevent the springs from wrapping around the shafts.

Shredder model:		Dual-Shear™
Cutters:		2" wide
Drive Type:		Electric
Screen:		Not applicable
RAM:		No (However, RAM is recommended for processing bulky materials)
Output:		2" - 3" wide strips