A FREE mattress recycling service has been introduced to help people dispose of their unwanted mattresses in an environementally friendly way.

A sticker must be placed on the mattress which can be collected from any Lewisham library or from Lewisham Council's Access Point in Laurence House, Catford.

The mattress will be collected on the same day as scheduled refuse and recycling collections.

Residents must place the mattress near their refuse bin the evening before collection day.

Cabinet member for customer services, Councillor Susan Wise, said: “Lewisham's new mattress recycling service is a great idea, very simple to use and it's free.

“I would encourage anyone who's thinking about throwing away an old mattress to take advantage of this very useful new service."

A local business, Matt: UK, is responsible for recycling the mattresses. It intends to recycle 97 per cent of metal, cotton, polyester and felt.