Sustainable Alternatives to the Mattress
Most mattresses today are hard or impossible to recycle. New ones have a tendendency to off-gas potentially hazardous violotile chemicals, and they're a pain to move when you're switching apartments.
So all around, not the most ecocologically sound thing in the house.
Here are some Mattress alternatives that are more sustainable.
BuckWheat Hull Mattress
Buckwheat is a type of grain that is used to make flour. The hulls could be considered an angricultural by-product, so using them to as a mattress filling means that you are preventing waste. The hulls are particularly well suited to the job because they are non-aromatic, and do not retain heat.
To make a mattress out of you take a bunch of little sacks filled with Buckwheat hulls, that you stack or weave together. The end result is something akin to sleeping on a beanbag. It conforms to your body and is easy to fluff up when neccessary. Having lots of little bags instead of one big one means that the mattress can never get too thin in one spot.
Pros: uses a by-product, shouldn't compress significantly over time, easy to use as a couple, long lasting,
Cons: Very expensive: the hulls can range anywhere from one to eight dollars a pound, a queen sized mattress requires about two hundred pounds of hulls to fill, that can add up quickly . Hard to move: Did you notice that this mattress can be two hundred pounds? It's not something I would want to move from place to place.
Here is a link to an informative site on buckwheat hull mattresses.
Hammocks
A hammock may seem like an odd choice to replace your mattress with, but it is probably the easiest option on the list. You buy a Hammock, you buy the mounting hardware, and you are good to go. The life of this bed should also be faily long, but the nice thing about fabric is that it is easy to reuse. It's also nice that you can clean a hammock more easily than a typical Mattress
The trick to sleeping on a hammock is that you need to lie at an angle rather than on either axis. Theroretically this creates a flat surface on which to sleep.
pros: Easy to obtain, easy to set up, easy to reuse at the end of it's life, easy to clean, long life-span
cons: bit of a learning curve to use, couples would have a tricky time sleeping together, couples would have to snuggle while they sleep (I definitely prefer my space while I sleep), requires either a bulky frame, or drilling into the studs of your wall (not ideal when you're in an apartment like us), might be too chilly in a colder climate
Straw
People have been using agricultural by-products to stuff their matresses for years. The Buckwheat Hulls are the trendy option, but straw is more traditional.
Essentially you create a tick (a big square bag with buttons, preferably made out of ticking) and you stuff it with clean, dry straw. The more straw you stuff into the bag, the stiffer the mattress will be. This alternative is another super cheap option, and is also easy to DIY. However, one major drawback is that the stuffing will need to redone about once every six months, because the straw compresses quickly. Straw also has somewhat aromatic tendencies.
Pros: Extremely afforadable. easy to DIY, easy to access materials, contents are reusable around the typical homestead (garden mulch or animal bedding),
Cons: Short lifespan, poor public opinion.
This blog post is a pretty good guide on how to make a straw mattres. However, the writer eventually got rid of her mattress because of back problems.
Wool
If blueberries could be considered a superfood than wool is a super-textile. It's naturally fire resistant, naturally resists the microscopic bedmites present in every home, insulates well, can abosrb 1/3 of its weight in water without feeling wet (Potty training anyone?). And it's a completely renewable resource.
I really, really want to like wool.
Unfortunately the typical wool matress costs anywhere from one thousand to six thousand dollars depending upon the supplier and additional bells and whistles in the mattress.
Theoretically a Wool mattress can last a lifetime if you recard the wool every ten years or so, and then restuff the mattress, but most american retailers that offer this product simply recamend replacing the Mattress every eight years, about the same amount of time modern day mattresses last.
Depending upon other materials used in the mattress the contents should be reusable, recyclable, or even compostable at the end of it's life.
Pros: Super-material, health benefits, awesome crib mattress potential.
Cons: Can be expensive, can also be heavy,
Yo
A Yo is a Korean style futon. They're usually made out of cotton or wool, and have the consistency of a kinda-stiff, really thick comforter. They generally also have a removable outer cover (basically the love-child between a duvet cover and a sheet).
It's similar to the better known Japanese Futon, except that the Yo generally goes directly on the ground, while the futon usually lies on another mat (traditionally made of reeds) and even a small bed frame-type stand.
The Yo is made to be folded up during the day and stashed into a wardrobe.
Do you understand the potential a Yo has? If you can make a blanket, you can make yourself a Yo. If you want to, you can pack it up during the day and turn the bedroom into an office or library that just happens to have all of your underwear in it. You don't need bulky stand, or to drill holes into the walls to sleep in it. You can have all the benefits of wool with only a fraction of the cost.
A Yo would also be stupendously easy to move around with you. Mattresses are big, bulky and awkard, and there's the bedframe to think about. If blue berries are a super-food, and wool is a super-material, then I think a Yo is the super sustainable replacement for a mattress.
Pros: Easy to move, easy to make, affordable, compostable, washable, I want one,
Cons: all your friends will be jealous
