It looks like a heavy, uncomfortable, blue-grey block of hard edges from a dystopian future.
But John Stehle lifts his creation high above his head and walks around happily.
“It takes about one hour to make a king single. We assemble it a bit like Lego,” he said, confidently snapping another piece in place.
“My daughter and I have jumped on it.”
This time, he adds some plastic trimming to soften some edges.
A mattress and sheets are then put on top of the frame which without them, looks a bit like a bed of neo-milk crates.
This is the “circular bed” and it is made by a Robovoid, a Melbourne company that usually makes concrete and steel alternatives for the construction sector.
And despite being 100 per cent plastic, environmentalists are very excited.
Sustainability Victoria has poured $400,000 into the circular bed.
Chief executive Matt Genever said few people realise how much of an environmental nightmare beds and bed frames are.
“We throw away around 1.8 million mattresses every year in Australia, and hundreds of thousands of bed frames, and that’s often because they’re not made to last,” he said.
And while every part of the circular bed is plastic, it is 100 per cent recycled plastic, created from an injection moulding machine in Melbourne.
It means every king single represents 21kg of plastic that won’t go to landfill, according to Robovoid director Scott Olding.
“The recycled plastic material we use is a poly polypropylene. So that’s everything from tarpaulins to buckets to bread crates and milk crates,” he said.
“It’s a very common plastic in society, and therefore a very common waste plastic in society.
“We can also use some LDPE, which is better known as soft plastics, which, again, is a really big problem, particularly here in Australia.”
Heavy duty trials
Circular beds made from recycled plastic are now being trialled by a company called Social Living, which aims to make furniture more sustainable.
Trial locations include a remote Northern Territory Community, student accommodation in Melbourne and Melbourne Storm Academy players.
Academy player and Social Living employee Angus Hinchey sleeps on one right now and said it feels as good as any bed he’s ever had, if not better.
“Yeah, I need my sleep. Getting in a good sleep is the best form of recovery,” the 19-year-old 97kg Queenslander said.
“I’ve had mainly wooden beds before. And this is noise free. There is no creaking and nothing like that.”
“I jump on it and everything. No problems. It’s awesome. I love it.”
Hinchey is hoping to make his NRL debut in 2025, and also hoping the beds can also get more exposure next year too.
“I’d like to be involved moving forward. There’s a lot of opportunity with this.”
Beds built to last for generations
Kylie Roberts-Frost from the Australian Bedding Stewardship Council said the circular bed is an “Australian First’.
“Maybe even a world first,” she said.
Testing shows the single bed can hold 140kg easily, will last for 10 years, and because it is plastic, is mould and pest resistant.
“There’s huge application for this in things like university accommodation. We know that it has huge benefits in areas like the Northern Territory,” she said.
After 10 years, the plastic can be recycled again into another bed frame.
“It means the life cycle of this plastic, and the useful life cycle of this plastic can be generations long, and that’s really, really important,” she said.
“It’s fully circular, and it’s fully domestically managed. It’s all being done in Australia, and that’s a huge, huge win for us.
“Globally, 91 per cent of plastic that’s ever been created, is still in existence today.
“This is a solution that the guys have put together that replaces a problem product that we don’t have good solutions for today.”
Robovoid’s Scott Olding said the beds are being sold by some retailers, and while it us up to each retailer to decide the price, the costs should be close to traditional beds.
And John Stehle hopes its just the beginning of a sustainable plastic movement.
In the corner of his factory, bed bits have been assembled into a prototype armchair.
He sits in it and pretends to drink a beer, smiling.
“I’m a bit of dreamer,” he says.
“Maybe we can do more furniture in the future.”
