Mattresses & Box Springs Alternative ways to recycle Take to Transfer Station Don't Just Dump Them Never dump mattresses on the side of the road. Drop them off at a landfill, or dispose of them through a mattress recycling program. It’s expensive for public agencies to pick up illegally dumped mattresses. Alternative Ways to Recycle Take It to a Bye Bye Mattress Location California state law adds a small fee to the sale of mattresses and box springs that is used to fund their collection and recycling. California residents will receive a $3 reimbursement when they recycle them at participating facilities. Learn more or find a collection site near you. Donate to St. Vincent de Paul Consider taking a used mattress or box springs to St. Vincent de Paul. They will not resell mattresses for hygiene reasons, but they will recycle them. Call for Pick-Up There are a couple of independent companies in California that will pick up old mattresses for recycling, such as Bay Area Recycle. Ways to Reuse Sell or Give Away Listing a mattress on Craigslist or Freecycle can save you a trip to the landfill. Old, bulky items can otherwise be difficult or pricy to transport. Did You Know? Mattress Recycling Council Recycles 1,000,000 Mattresses The Mattress Recycling Council’s Bye Bye Mattress program began in 2015, and serves only California, Connecticut and Rhode Island. As of January 2017, they announced that the program has recycled over 1,000,000 mattresses. That means they have diverted over 25,000 tons of materials from landfills — that’s more than 11 million cubic feet of landfill space. Read more about Bye Bye Mattress. Fillet the Mattress to Recycle It St. Vincent de Paul employs workers to fillet or cut apart mattresses using a box cutter. These workers recycle approximately 170,000 mattresses per year. Compared to other mattress parts, material from “T” frame steel box springs is generally sold for the most money and lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Polyurethane from used mattresses is often recycled into wall foaming.
