The Marine Conservation Society, based in Ross-on-Wye, have created a new partnership with the bed manufacturer Silentnight, as part of the company’s drive to contribute towards a greener planet, pledging financial support for the MCS’s work to ensure our seas are healthy, pollution-free and protected.

As well as the financial backing, Silentnight staff will be getting involved in the charity’s programme of beach cleans and wider initiatives to protect of our seas, shores and wildlife. Last year alone, the Marine Conservation Society removed 568,000 pieces of litter from our coasts.

And Silentnight has prevented a staggering 105 million plastic bottles from going into oceans and landfill in just one year after launching its new eco friendly mattress technology.

Each mattress uses Eco Comfort fibres™ manufactured from 150 plastic bottles. During the manufacturing process, the bottles are crushed and spun into a fibre to form a breathable and sustainable comfort layer. Silentnight is the first UK bed manufacturer to pioneer a mattress filling made from recycled plastic bottles.

The Eco Comfort mattress range was developed following extensive research, trials and testing by Silentnight’s product innovations team. They are fully recyclable at the end of their life - meaning zero to landfill.

Silentnight is also on track to become a carbon-neutral business by mid-2018 and is offsetting its fleet and factory emissions with tree planting initiatives. It has also developed a new programme to improve the fuel efficiency and route planning in a bid to reduce carbon emissions.

Silentnight recycles 100 per cent of its manufacturing waste. 90 per cent of general waste is recycled and the brand is striving towards becoming a ‘zero to landfill’ business.

And Silentnight mattresses are also no longer double-bagged for delivery, reducing packaging by 50 per cent.

The company’s headboard department has recently cut its timber waste by almost 30 per cent since December 2017, and plans to reduce it further by 10% through continuous improvement processes.

Across the business, the company has also reduced its lighting energy costs by 45 per cent and reduced gas usage per £100k of turnover, by 21 per cent from 2013 to 2016.

Silentnight’s ‘trade in’ scheme means any customer who purchases a new mattress via its website or dedicated showrooms will have the option to have their old mattress taken away and responsibly disposed of by the bedmaker. Silentnight currently recycles around 35,000 mattresses every year.

Sandy Luk, Chief Executive at the Marine Conservation Society, said: "Here at MCS, we want to see a reduction in the number of single-use plastic bottles in circulation. That means ensuring that we avoid using them as much as possible. Recycling existing material into mattresses is another solution to the growing waste problem, and we’re delighted to partner with Silentnight. Funds received will contribute to our work to protect the marine environment."

Last year Silentnight won the Sustainability Award from The Furniture Makers’ Company (the British furnishing industry’s charity), recognising the company’s commitment to having a positive impact on the planet.