Mattresses can be a chore to move or dispose of, especially in large quantities. It may be why they are often left on the curb.
"They're hard to handle," Executive Director of Kernovate Daniel Kern said. "Waste haulers, landfills, even municipalities, they don't like working with them.
"They're bulky, they're large, they're heavy and they destroy equipment," he continued.
An industry group, Mattress Recycling Council, estimates more than 50,000 beds are thrown away every day in the United States. That same group estimates 75% of those beds can be recycled or reused.
Kern has decades of history with beds. He remembered delivering mattresses after high school sports practice as part of the family business, Kern Mattress Outlet, alongside his father and Kernovate's treasurer, Kerry.
"Those materials are ending up in our landfill," Daniel Kern said. "They cost a lot to get there and there's still value in them."
When Kern officially founded the Bloomington nonprofit Kernovate in 2025, he hoped to solve three problems at once: diverting mattresses from landfills, giving beds to those in need and providing work opportunities.
Material recovery and reuse
Two of the programs are well underway. Kernovate recently partnered with Five Star American Services to haul away and recycle 3,500 mattresses from dorms at University of Illinois, Northern Illinois University and Illinois State University.
At their storage headquarters on the fourth floor of a warehouse just southwest of Downtown Bloomington, tall stacks of vinyl-covered beds lined the walls. Kern guessed around 700 beds were waiting for either processing or delivery.
While beds vary in design, each one typically has springs and foam inside. The metal springs can be removed, bundled and sold. So can the foam, but Kern said it is sold by the truckload, so they need a lot of equipment and space.
The work is mostly hard labor, and currently done by Kern, his father and some volunteers.
To process a bed, Kern filets it open with a box cutter. Then, he pulls the foam and padding from the metal springs, sorting them into piles of what can be reused and what is waste. The entire process takes under three minutes.
According to their website, nearly 70 tons of spring, foam and mattress material have been diverted from the landfill, totaling 2,933 beds.
Creating job opportunities
Eventually, Kern would like to hire people to process their large volume of material. He envisions it as a step program, hiring people recovering from addiction, reintegrating into society from prison, or transitioning out of homelessness. They could earn an income and experience in an eco-friendly field.
There is a hurdle in terms of equipment and funding. Kern said he doesn't want to hire a bunch of people until he is certain the nonprofit is financially sustainable.
Kernovate is looking for partnership, capital investment and grant opportunities. It did receive a grant from the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, that money has supported the Bed Emergency Delivery Service, aptly named BEDS.
Emergency bed delivery
Social workers or community organizations can make referrals to Kernovate. During the collection process, Kernovate identifies beds that can be reused, then cleans and sanitizes them. Once they get a referral, they delivery the bed, or beds, to the family. Kern has made many of those deliveries personally.
"You can see the gratitude in their eyes," he said. "For a lot of the individuals, this is their first bed."
Julie Burke has been a social worker within Bloomington's District 87 school system for about 25 years, spending the last five as the district's homeless liaison.
Burke said she works with around 200 families every year, helping them secure the proper paperwork for their children's education and helping them find stable housing. Burke has seen families making the most of different kinds of situations.
"[I've seen families that] don't have furniture, kids may be doubling up with mom in the bed, kids sleeping on the floor," she said.
When growing minds and bodies aren't getting good sleep, Burke said they are more likely to act up, fall asleep in class or need extra support.
"You can tell by looking at their face with the circles under their eyes that they're having trouble sleeping," she said.
Burke has worked with Kern and his father informally for years, and she has seen the different a good night's rest can make. Burke recalled helping a family with three elementary-age boys get into an apartment. They were given beds through Kernovate.
"They started getting good night's sleep and we saw a turnaround in their behavior," she said. "Positive behavior."
According to the nonprofit's website, they have delivered 72 beds to 34 households. Kern said they have partnered with agencies through McLean County's Continuum of Care.
