Second Chance Recycling

What Second Chance Recycling does

Second Chance Recycling is a Minneapolis-based social enterprise that recycles mattresses and box springs through a five-step manual deconstruction process, recovering steel, foam, wood, and fabric for downstream recycling or resale. Founded in 2008, the company has processed nearly 500,000 mattresses cumulatively and currently operates at a stated annual capacity of 90,000 mattresses, diverting roughly 20 million pounds of material from landfills since inception. Its operations are organized as part of the EMERGE family of enterprises following a 2015 merger with EMERGE Community Development, and the business is structured around a dual mission of environmental impact and workforce reintegration, employing 100+ transitional workers annually (primarily individuals returning from incarceration) for 3-12 month trainee stints that include coaching, forklift certification, and supportive services.

The company generates revenue through a fee-for-service model charging $10-$50 per item (with a $30 base for mattress/box spring drop-off and $35 pickup, plus $50 for home removal and zip-code-based collection surcharges), supplemented by sales of recovered commodity materials. It serves four distinct customer segments — individual residents (via facility drop-off and curbside pickup), property management firms, government agencies, and city/county municipal programs — using dedicated order portals for enterprise and public-sector buyers and online scheduling infrastructure (Vonigo) for residential customers. Distribution is concentrated in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, with named municipal partners including MoundsView, West Lakeland Township, and Saint Paul, and named property-management customers including Kleinman Realty, Saint Paul Public Housing Agency, EIG Property Management, and Steven-Scott.

Operationally, Second Chance is a labor-intensive, manually executed recycling service rather than a technology-driven platform. Its competitive positioning rests on being described by management as the largest mattress recycling operation in its state and region, on its integration with EMERGE's workforce development pipeline, and on multi-channel distribution (drop-off, curbside, property-manager portal, government portal). Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and no external institutional investors or venture funding signals were identified; the entity operates as a private, nonprofit-aligned social enterprise under a strategic parent.

Name

Second Chance Recycling

Legal name

Second Chance Recycling

Website

https://secondchancerecyclingmn.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Second Chance Recycling is a Minneapolis-based social enterprise that manually deconstructs mattresses and box springs to recover steel, foam, wood, and fabric for recycling, serving Twin Cities residents, property managers, government agencies, and municipalities while employing people overcoming barriers to employment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mattress Recycling Services

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Waste Collection (56211)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Materials Recovery (Carpet, Mattresses, Bulky Items) (EUAIADAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Donation Pickup & Reuse Hauling (HSAKALAI), Eco-Friendly Disposal, Recycling & Donation Hauling (HSAIAOAJ)

Keywords

• Mattress recycling services
• Box spring recycling
• Curbside mattress pickup
• Landfill waste diversion
• Material recovery services

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Mattress Recycling Services: Fee-for-service model charging per item for mattress and box spring recycling, with additional fees for home removal and curbside pickup based on zip code location.
2. Recycled Material Sales: Materials separated during deconstruction (steel, foam, wood, fabrics) are either sent for recycling or sold.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Second Chance Recycling deconstructs mattresses and box springs to recover and recycle component materials including steel inner springs, foam, wood, and fabrics. Services are delivered through facility drop-off at the Minneapolis location, scheduled home/business pickups, and municipal curbside collection programs. The operations are integrated with a transitional employment program that hires people with barriers to employment to staff the deconstruction process.

Product overview

Second Chance Recycling operates as a social enterprise offering mattress and box spring recycling services through multiple delivery channels. The core offering is the Mattress Recycling Service, which deconstructs mattresses to recover steel, foam, wood, and fabrics. This is supported by the Curbside Collection Program for residential pickups in partner cities, plus dedicated portals for Property Manager Orders and Government Orders for bulk recycling needs. The company also provides Drop-Off and Pickup Services at its Minneapolis facility. As a social enterprise under EMERGE, the business integrates a Transitional Employment Program that provides 3-12 month trainee positions with training and supportive services for people returning from incarceration, combining environmental sustainability with workforce development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mattress Recycling Service End-to-end mattress and box spring recycling service that deconstructs mattresses through a five-step manual process (pillow top removal, edging removal, foam/cotton separation, steel rod cutting, and final sorting) to recover steel, foam, wood, and fabric components for recycling or resale. Targeted at residential, commercial, and municipal customers seeking responsible mattress disposal.
• Curbside Collection Program Scheduled pickup service for mattresses, box springs, foam toppers, and metal bed frames from residential curbsides in participating cities including MoundsView, West Lakeland Township, and Saint Paul. Targeted at residents within partner city limits who place items outside by 7:00 a.m. on the scheduled pickup date.
• Drop-Off and Home Removal Service Service offering customers the option to drop off items at the Minneapolis facility for base recycling fees or schedule a home/business pickup for a flat $50 removal fee plus a zip code-based collection fee. Pricing varies by item (e.g., $30 mattresses/box springs, $15 crib mattresses, $10 foam toppers/bed frames, $1 pillows).

Quantifiable outcome

• 90,000 mattresses recycled annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EMERGE Community DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Second Chance Recycling is part of the EMERGE family of enterprises. EMERGE operates three sustainable social enterprise businesses that empower people facing employment barriers to re-enter the workforce. Second Chance merged with EMERGE in 2015 after previously operating under Momentum Enterprises (formed in 2012 from merger of Second Chance Recycling, Furnish Office & Home, and Rebuild Resources).
• EMERGE (Donations)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerDonations to support Second Chance Recycling are processed through EMERGE's donation system. Support enables the organization to hire more trainees, provide support services, and advance the mission.
• R&EminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership overview exists between R&E and Second Chance Recycling for collaboration on shared initiatives.
• Furnish Office & HomeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister enterprise under EMERGE family. Together with Second Chance Recycling, both are social enterprises focused on environmental sustainability and workforce development.
• Cities and Counties (Minneapolis area)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCities and counties are described as the biggest partners in the effort to recycle as much mattress waste as possible. The company works with local municipalities on curbside collection programs.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Habitat for Humanity ReStores: Donation-driven reuse outlets handling furniture and mattresses with a social mission. Comparable in donation/reuse intake for bulky household items and in mission alignment around workforce and community impact.
• LoadUp: On-demand junk removal with an explicit eco-friendly disposal and donation-first routing model. Comparable in pickup service model and eco-positioning, though broader in item scope than Second Chance.

Broad incumbents

• Republic Services: National solid waste hauler with material recovery facilities serving municipalities. Comparable at the waste collection and MRF infrastructure layer, though Republic operates at vastly larger scale across all waste streams.
• Citymattress / Restonic Recycling Programs: Mattress manufacturers and retailers operating take-back and recycling initiatives. Adjacent to Second Chance through stewardship-style recycling programs but driven by producer responsibility rather than standalone recycler economics.
• 1-800-GOT-JUNK?: National junk removal franchise that handles mattress pickup and routes items to recyclers or disposal. Comparable at the customer-facing pickup layer, though Second Chance is the recycler while 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is the hauler feeding recyclers.
• Waste Management (WM): Largest North American waste and recycling services company with collection, MRFs, and disposal. Comparable in serving municipal recycling contracts; Second Chance competes for the mattress-specific slice of that demand.

Direct peers

• Spring Back Recycling: Matress recycling operation deconstrctuing mattresses to recover steel, foam, and textiles. Closely comparable niche recycler with similar manual deconstruction methodology and downstream commodity sales.
• DR3 Mattress Recycling: Specialty mattress and box spring recycling facility recovering metal, foam, and wood. Direct competitor in the specialty bulky-item materials recovery niche with comparable unit-pricing economics.
• Mattress Recycling Council: Industry-funded stewardship organization running mattress recycling programs in multiple U.S. states. Directly comparable as a competing mattress recycling infrastructure operator targeting the same waste stream and similar municipal customers.

Regional players

• Snoozy's Mattress Recycling: Regional mattress recycling operator in another U.S. market. Direct comparable at the specialty materials recovery layer but serving a different geography, useful as a same-business, different-region peer benchmark.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SecondChanceRecyclingAndRenewal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/second-chance-recycling-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Second Chance Recycling