Answers to your questions
Of course there will be questions. We get that. See below for answers to the most frequently asked questions. If there are still things that are not quite clear to you or you have a question that is not included, please get in touch with us and we will help you on your way!
Both manufacturers and importers are required to submit quarterly statements on the MRN portal. You can only do that after you have registered successfully. On the ‘statement form,’ the categories are clearly split up into single/double mattresses, single/double toppers, and baby/children’s mattresses.
In your accounts, therefore, you should make sure you can generate a list of sales in each of the above categories. Manufacturers and importers can decide at their own discretion whether or not to show the amount of the waste management contribution on their receipts, or to state ‘legal contribution paid to MRN’ on their receipts.
The waste management contribution scheme does not differentiate between brands and private labels. The question is often where a private-label mattress has been manufactured, i.e. who the manufacturer is. After all, all manufacturers are charged the same waste management contribution per mattress in the Netherlands.
Seeing as all manufacturers are under an obligation to pay the waste management contribution to the foundation, your supplier will pay the contribution (if all is well). Your supplier will make this known to you by stating it on the receipt, for example. The contribution is charged only on the mattresses of a box spring combination, i.e. not on the box spring. For a box spring with 2 mattresses, however, a waste management contribution will be charged for each mattress.
In 2022, the fee for mattresses offered to the certified recyclers RetourMatras and Matras Recycling Europe will be 15% of the costs of renting a mattress container, transport to the recycler and processing costs charged by the recycler. The MRN board has decided to increase the fee to 60% for 2023. This should encourage the collection of clean and dry mattresses, so that even more mattresses are offered to recyclers.
The fee increases annually. Each year, the fee for the following year is determined in October.
The consumer mattresses are delivered to a Dutch company, therefore a waste management contribution has to be paid on these mattresses.
The company supplying the mattresses abroad may submit a request for a refund to MRN. In that case, the burden of proof lies with the company that exports the mattresses abroad. A request for a refund can be made by sending an e-mail to administratie@mrn.nl.
If you supply a foreign entrepreneur directly, you do not have to pay any waste management contribution, because the mattresses do not come into Dutch territory.
Example 1: If you expect to produce/import around 200 mattresses per year, we advise you to file a nil (0) declaration for the first 3 quarters. You can then enter the actual numbers in the last quarter. If this total remains under 200 mattresses, you will not have to pay any waste management levy.
Example 2: If it transpires in Q4 that your annual volume exceeds 200 mattresses, you do pay the waste management levy and will receive an invoice for these 220 mattresses after you have filed your return in Q4.
Example 3: If you declare 50 mattresses in Q1, you will also pay a waste management levy on these 50 mattresses. If it eventually transpires that you remain under 200 mattresses, you will receive a credit note.
If you produce mattresses that are ultimately sold to a consumer (for example, through a wholesaler), then you are producing for a consumer and you are liable for the waste management levy.
If you produce mattresses that are not bought by a consumer, but by a business user of those mattresses (for example a hotel or bungalow park), then you are supplying and producing for the business market and you do not have to pay a waste management levy.
As a collector, you can request the waste stream number from your recycling company (the processor). You will then receive a 12-digit number.
If you do not report anything on a waste stream number for five years, it will be removed.
If a waste stream number has expired, no waste can be reported.
MRN works with two certified mattress recycling companies, namely RetourMatras and Matras Recycling Europe.
With effect from 1 January 2022, the Extended Producer Responsibility (UPV) for mattresses came into force. The 2023 waste management fee is €3.25 (regardless of the type of mattress). The MRN board decided to increase the contribution for 2024, also differentiating the contribution by mattress type.
This waste management contribution 2024 is as follows:
1-person mattress €5.50
Double mattress € 6.50
1-person topper € 5.50
2-person topper € 6.50
Children’s mattress € 4.50
The new contributions apply to all mattress types invoiced from 1 January 2024. Order and delivery dates are therefore subordinate to the invoice date.
MRN was founded to make the mattress industry sustainable by reducing the number of discarded mattresses that are burnt as waste and by recycling more of them. The basic prerequisite for recycling is that mattresses must be dry. Many stores already take back old mattresses as a service to their customers. MRN will cover part of the recycling costs, including for retailers who deliver old mattresses to certified recyclers.
If you, as a foreign entity, sell over 200 mattresses in the Netherlands on an annual basis, you have to pay a waste management contribution to MRN. This is because when your mattresses are discarded, they will ultimately be recycled in the Netherlands, the costs of which you pay in advance through MRN.
Yes, if you invoice your franchisees or retailers for mattresses that you procure for a private label from a Dutch or foreign manufacturer/supplier, you are under an obligation to submit statements of your sales volumes for the waste management contribution.
MRN has developed communication material, including a website and a short video, explaining in clear language what MRN does. You can also order stickers for on your door or window. To order, send an email to info@mrn.nl with the word ‘Stickers’ in the subject line. In your email, specify how many stickers you want and the address to which you want us to send the stickers. Retail chains will receive the stickers at their head office.
Yes, the waste management contribution is compulsory if you manufacture or import more than 200 mattresses a year. You will be charged the contribution per mattress for the total number of mattresses for which you have invoiced someone or that you have introduced into the Dutch market since 1 January 2022. This applies to everyone to ensure a fair situation. If you register in the system after February 2022, the Mattress Recycling Netherlands (MRN) Foundation will remind you of this obligation. If you do not file anything and do not pay the contribution, a fine will be imposed.
There is no legal obligation to state the amount on the invoice, neither for manufacturers nor for retailers. MRN leaves this entirely to participants’ own discretion.
MRN is able to calculate a recycling rate because we can see every quarter how many mattresses have been sold in the Netherlands and how many have been taken to a recycling facility. This rate will have to rise to 75%. This is the target we have set. By 2028, we will cover all mattress recycling costs and at least 75% of all consumer mattresses must be taken to certified recycling companies for recycling.
A mattress/topper is the body-supporting part of a bed that can be placed on a bedstead, box spring, or a frame (slatted base, springs, or other). A mattress/topper supports the body in a lying position and has a minimum thickness of three centimetres.
Examples of products that come under this definition:
- Single mattress (minimum thickness of 3cm)
- Double mattress (minimum thickness of 3cm)
- Baby/children’s mattress (minimum thickness of 3cm)
- Single topper (minimum thickness of 3cm)
- Double topper (minimum thickness of 3cm)
Examples of products that fall outside the scope of this definition:
- Mattresses/toppers that are under 3 centimetres thick
- Mattress protectors
- Box springs (box spring mattresses & toppers, however, are in scope)
- Blankets and duvets
- Seat cushions
- Air mattresses
- Playing or gym mats
A waste management contribution is payable for mattresses/toppers that are three centimetres thick or thicker. The amount payable is the same for all types of mattresses, i.e. irrespective of whether it is a single or double mattress or topper. The same contribution is also charged for baby and children’s mattresses.
Sizes
A 100-105cm mattress is a wide mattress, but king-size beds can be up to 240cm wide.
From a width of 120 cm a bed is a regular double bed.
It may be that fewer mattresses were sold over a certain period, causing the waste management contributions paid to MRN to be insufficient to cover the claims for compensation towards mattress recycling costs. If there turns out to be a deficit, MRN will index the waste management contribution to generate more revenue. The entitlement to compensation that we had agreed on for that year will remain unchanged. MRN will then register a debt to parties entitled to compensation that will be settled later.
You can submit your mattress statements on the portal. After you have registered, you can log in on the portal using your username and password. Go to: ‘Submit mattress statement.’ You are required to submit these statements every quarter. Please note: once you have selected a time period, you cannot change it. In order to better spread your liquidity, you would be best off choosing to submit monthly instead of quarterly statements. Make sure you have the following details to hand: number of single mattresses sold, number of double mattresses sold, number of children’s/baby mattresses sold, number of single toppers sold, and number of double toppers sold. The rest is self-evident. Based on the statements you file, you will receive an invoice with a 30-day payment term.
NOTE: You report the number of mattresses sold per quarter. The period for which you do this relates to the previous quarter. You can submit your declaration (if you have registered) from the first day of the new quarter (1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October). You then have one calendar month to make your declaration.
The scheme has been declared legally binding by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and was published in the Dutch Government Gazette on 17 December 2021. The order declaring the scheme legally binding on all parties in the industry is available for download here.
Please also read this brief explanation: in 2019, the five largest mattress retailers in the Netherlands (Beter Bed, Swiss Sense, Ikea, Hilding Anders, and Koninklijke Auping) teamed up to work out a voluntary Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for mattress recycling. The initiators submitted a request to the government for an order declaring legal bindingness for the introduction of a waste management contribution for mattresses. The order declaring the waste management contribution scheme for mattresses legally binding took effect on 1 January 2022. From that date onwards, manufacturers and importers are under a legal obligation to pay a waste management contribution for each mattress they sell.
MRN sees to it that this is done effectively and efficiently and aims for a sustainable mattress industry. MRN is required to publish an annual report of its performance and results for its participants and the Dutch government.
As soon as you have submitted a statement, MRN will process it and send an invoice to the email address you have provided. VAT will be added to the invoice amount. The payment term for the invoice is 15 days.
You are not under an obligation to put the waste management contribution on your invoices and pass the charge on to your customers. MRN does, however, advise you to state on the invoice that a waste management contribution was charged. By adding the line ‘includes the disposal contribution payable by law,’ we can raise awareness. The amount of the contribution is stated on the MRN website.
As a manufacturer or importer, you are under a legal obligation to submit a statement of your mattress sales volumes. If you fail to do so, you are prejudicing your fellow entrepreneurs, because everyone is under an obligation to do their part. If you do not pay, not even after having received a reminder from us, we will add a fine to the amount due.
The waste management contribution is not payable for mattresses that will not be sold to consumers in the Netherlands. Do check, however, if an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme applies in the destination country. This is currently the case in Belgium and France, for example. Many countries in the EU and further afield are working on a similar system to stimulate circularity in the processing of old mattresses.
No, because these mattresses are not sold to consumers in the Netherlands. Please note that many countries have already implemented an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme. You may be liable to pay a similar contribution in the countries to which you export.
Statements submitted by participants in the scheme are checked and submitted to the government on an annual basis. The audits lead to audit opinions based on a representative sample.
When a mattress has not been sold on an invoice, it has in actual fact not been introduced into the Dutch market and you are not liable to pay a waste management contribution for it. This means that you do not have to pay the waste management contribution for mattresses given on consignment to the retailer.
No, the statement and payment to MRN relate only to mattresses, in the following categories: single mattresses, double mattresses, children’s/baby mattresses, single toppers, and double toppers.
No, you are not. It is not legally possible to make this compulsory. MRN does, however, publish the amount of the waste management contribution (including possible indexations) and the actual recycling costs on its website. MRN also advises you to add a line to the invoice saying that a waste management contribution was charged.
As a mattress manufacturer, will I be compensated when I pick up my customers’ discarded mattresses?
Yes, MRN pays the same compensation as it pays to municipal waste collectors and waste and recycling facilities. Claims must be submitted along with proof that the invoice has been paid to a registered and certified Dutch recycling company.
Not for the covers, only for the core. The covers fall outside the scope of the compulsory waste management contribution. The core is considered to be a mattress and, therefore, subject to the waste management contribution.