Table of Contents
How to Dispose of Old Mattress
Is it time to replace or upgrade your mattress?
A mattress generally lasts between 7 and 10 years, so you may not know exactly what to do with your old one. Depending on where your new mattress was purchased, where you live, and your preferences, there are a few different options.
The average mattress contains over 7 pounds of steel, 4 pounds of foam, and 1.5 pounds of wood, meaning most components can be recycled or reused.
We’ll discuss the easiest and most environmentally friendly ways to get rid of that old mattress. Since close to 15 million mattresses end up in landfills each year, it’s essential to take a little extra time to avoid this whenever possible.
Mattress Removal
How Do I Get Rid of an Old Mattress?
If you’ve purchased your mattress from a brick-and-mortar store like a furniture or mattress store, you are most likely having the mattress delivered to your home. Nearly every retail store will include the removal of your old mattress in the delivery price if you desire. Check with the salesperson when setting up delivery and ensure they can remove your old mattress. You may also want to check that they follow through with recycling old mattresses they pick up and that they do not just end up at the dump and then in a landfill.
If it is a smaller independent mattress retailer, it may or may not be taking the extra steps to haul mattresses to a recycling center that accepts them. You can also utilize the Mattress Recycling Council website for information on a specific retailer. They operate in several states, including California, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Usually, larger chains are set up to take them to a recycling center where they are disassembled, and whatever parts can be recycled are separated.
This is usually a free service or included with delivery costs and would be the most straightforward, least complicated way to get rid of that old, worn-out mattress. With this option, you won’t have to wrap or load up a large, heavy mattress or transport it, so save your back and some time if possible. Let the professionals remove it for you.
Mattress Recycling Locations
Where Can I Take a Mattress for Recycling?
Nowadays, even mattresses can be purchased online. While purchasing online can usually save you money, remember that removing your old mattress is no longer available. If you bought your mattress online or store pickup is not an option, you must do more leg work. There may or may not be a mattress recycling center in your area.
Recycle it Yourself
You can seek to recycle the mattress yourself. Check with your municipality’s waste management organization for a mattress recycling program. Usually, a city or county website will have information on where to drop a mattress for recycling or how to arrange for pick-up.
Many states have passed laws that require mattress recycling programs to facilitate proper disposal for communities. You can also try calling your local independent recycling center to ask if they accept mattresses. Depending on your state, there may be a fee involved in this scenario.
Local Recycling Centers That Accept Mattresses
There is an excellent chance that a recycling center in your area accepts mattresses. You may even be able to find a facility that will pick up your old mattress for you. Many facilities will take mattresses. However, you shouldn’t just assume that your mattress will be accepted.
Confirming things first is always a good idea to avoid an unnecessary trip with your bulky item. Call your local recycling center and ask questions. If they don’t accept it, they may know of another company that will. Confirm with them the type of mattress you want to bring: box springs and coils or memory foam.
Some recycling centers that accept large bulk items, such as mattresses, charge a small recycling fee. Make sure to check directly with the facility in your area. These mattress recycling fees usually range between $20 and $40 per mattress.
Mattresses take up a lot of space and are not all entirely recyclable. The labor involved in dismantling a mattress to recycle reusable material is why many recycling locations charge a small fee. Free mattress recycling is available at some large recycling centers, so try a few if you want to avoid this fee.
Free Mattress Disposal
Selling a Used Mattress
If the mattress you’re replacing is in good shape, you should consider selling it. Of course, a used mattress that is broken or in poor condition will not sell, but if your mattress is under ten years old and in decent to good condition, you can quickly post on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace to find a buyer. Including sizes, such as twin, full, double, queen, or king, and details like if it is soft, hard, firm, or has a pillow top will help it sell faster.
You should also note if it always had a mattress protector cover and if you have any sheets, blankets, or quilts to include in the sale. Remember to consider the weight of your mattress and let the potential buyer know if you can help them load it. They may need to bring friends for some team effort to help.
Mattress Donation
If you don’t get any buyers, you can also consider mattress donations. A used mattress cannot always be dropped off at any thrift store or goodwill donation center. Call a local charity or shelter in your community to see if they would be interested. Some thrift stores do accept mattresses, so it’s also reasonable to check with them. This will involve your effort transporting the mattress, but it stays out of a landfill, and you get to help someone.
If the mattress you need to get rid of is still in good condition, you may want to explore donation. If the mattress is very worn or stained, this wouldn’t be an option. You can start with a quick internet search for a donation drop-off near me and see if nearby charities, such as Habitat for Humanity, accept mattresses. Many charities do not accept mattresses, so you will want to check by calling them directly first. You can also check with Donationtown.org; they even have many that can arrange for pickup of your mattress donation.
Yet another option is checking with your friends and family. Reach out to relatives, and there may be someone who could use a comfortable mattress for a spare bedroom or a young adult who is just moving out on their own.
Other Free Options
If you can’t find a charity to take your used mattress, you still have some options for getting rid of it for free.
- Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace – Post an ad for your mattress in the Free section. Your success will, of course, depend on its condition and age.
- Homeless shelter – If you live in a larger city, try calling homeless shelters in the area to see if they would have a use for the mattress.
- Friends and family – Reach out to friends or family and see if anyone could use your mattress.
Mattress Recycling Service and Junk Removal
Mattress removal service is available in most cities. People get rid of their old mattresses every day. Because mattress disposal is a common problem, businesses specialize in removing old mattresses. A mattress recycling service will charge you. Most places charge between $50 and $150 for removal, but they will safely dispose of your mattress and box spring.
These companies are also helpful if you don’t have a way to transport your mattress to a recycling center. If you don’t have other options, paying to get rid of your mattress is an excellent idea. They follow the laws and rules regarding the process of mattress recycling. You may be required to cover your mattress in a disposal bag or a plastic cover before they pick it up.
There are several reasons, the primary one being hygiene and preventing bed bugs. If you go the route of bulk pick up with curb pickup from your town waste management, you may also be required to cover the mattress.
Recycling Bed Frames and Pillows
Bed Frames
The options for recycling bed frames and old pillows are slightly different, but trashing them can still be avoided. Metal or wood bed frames can be recycled. They would need to be taken to a recycling center that works on scrap metal or accepts furniture for recycling. If the bed frame isn’t broken, you should look into donating it or giving it away for free online. Many organizations and shelters would accept your bed frames to help someone in need.
If it is too worn or broken to be salvaged, look for a recycling center that might accept the frame if it is metal. You could break it down into small pieces and toss it curbside if it’s wood. Do not attempt to burn it, as it is most likely chemically treated and/or stained wood and will release dangerous toxins.
If the bedframe is plastic, it gets a little more complicated because it depends upon the type of plastic used. It is likely not recyclable. However, you can resell, donate, or give away a plastic bedframe in working order.
Pillows
Pillows are often replaced more often than mattresses and can get filthy and gross. There’s no way to resale, donate, or give away a used pillow for the most part. However, you can upcycle your pillows into dog or cat beds or for insulation under a drafty door. Another option is to ask a local animal shelter if they would accept them for animal bedding. If you’ve exhausted those options or they don’t interest you, look for a textile recycling drop-off or center.
Pillow materials can be shredded like a mattress, separated, treated, and turned into raw material for new products like pillows, carpet padding, insulation, or furniture pads. Once you locate a textile recycling location, bag your clean pillows and other items and drop them off.
Mattress Recycling FAQs
Where to buy mattress disposal bags?
Some junk removal services may require you to bag up your used mattress for sanitation purposes. Mattress disposal bags may also be required if your local waste management accepts mattresses curbside. Mattress disposal bags are available at local home improvement stores or wherever moving supplies are sold.
Can you take a mattress to the dump?
If you have explored these other options, do not dump or burn your mattress. Although taking your mattress to the dump should be avoided, it may be your only option if you live in a rural area or the mattress is in terrible shape. There will be a fee at the dump, usually determined by the weight, or a flat fee for the mattress. You can call before transporting to ensure you aren’t surprised with a fee.
Dumping is illegal; if you dump your mattress on the side of the road or in someone else’s dumpster, you could be fined. Burning a mattress can be extremely dangerous. If you burn a mattress, you risk your health and safety. Burning a mattress also releases harmful toxins in the air that cause damage to the environment.
Can memory foam mattresses be recycled?
Yes, a memory foam mattress can be handled like a standard mattress in recycling. While it is true that the foam can’t be broken down into its original form just like Styrofoam cannot, it can be shredded up to be reused as another foam product like car seat padding, a memory foam pillow, or a mattress topper. So, while they are heavier and may be a nuisance to remove and transport, memory foam mattresses can and should still be recycled.
How is a mattress recycled?
At a recycling center, a conveyor belt usually moves each mattress or box spring into a machine that cuts away all the soft materials, such as cotton and fabrics, from the top, bottom, and sides. As with all recycling processes, the process involves separating the different materials from each other. The metal pieces are collected using magnetically charged equipment. This filters out the soft, fibrous materials, which can then be shredded up and compacted into bales to be sent to another location where they can be cleaned and made into new products. Mattress manufacturers are finding many ways to utilize the recycled materials from old mattresses, turning waste problems into new products and giving the raw materials new life.
Do people buy used mattresses?
Yes, but several factors determine whether someone will buy a used mattress. The condition is the first factor, and the price is the second. Sometimes, people have a bed in a guest bedroom that was hardly used, or the wrong item was shipped, and they can’t return it. If the item is clean, in good condition, and is priced right, usually 20-30% of the original price, then a savvy shopper may snag it right away.
What are the benefits of recycling mattresses?
The primary benefit of recycling mattresses is keeping this large, bulky item out of our landfills. They take up an enormous amount of space; even more importantly, around 80% to 90% of the materials can be recycled.
Wood can be turned into mulch, and steel and metal can be turned into scrap metal, with countless options for manufacturing new valuable products like building materials.
Foam and plastics can be processed and turned into carpet padding, and soft materials like cotton can be processed into yarn, insulation, or other textiles.
In summary, the mattress is kept out of the landfill, and the materials are recycled, which means less is wasted, fewer raw materials need to be created to make new items, and it is much better for the environment overall.
How much does it cost to recycle a mattress?
This will depend upon which state or even the county you reside in. For example, in California, bringing your old mattress to a designated recycling location is free. A fee is imposed on newly purchased mattresses to offset the costs involved in recycling. This is also true in several other states. If your state does not have a mattress recycling law, you can still recycle your mattress, but a small fee may be involved, which shouldn’t be greater than $25 to $50.