Updated 2026-08-26
There are exactly six legitimate ways to get rid of a mattress in the United States. Here they are, ranked by how often they actually work.
1. Full service pickup
A scheduled pickup, ours starts at $85 with the exact price guaranteed at checkout, is the only option on this list where someone else does the lifting, the transport, and the routing. Clean mattresses are offered to charities first, recyclable ones route to facilities, and you never touch a truck. This is the answer for anyone whose time is worth more than the fee. See your price in about a minute.
2. Donation, if it qualifies
Charities want clean, undamaged mattresses under roughly eight to ten years old, and they want them badly, because a bed is the first thing a family setting up a home needs. The catch is transport and the condition bar. Our donation pickup handles both, or you can self deliver to a charity that accepts mattresses after calling ahead.
3. Recycling, where it exists
Most of a mattress by weight is recoverable steel, foam, and wood. In California, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Oregon, statewide programs fund collection sites. In Massachusetts, recycling is effectively mandatory because disposal is banned. Elsewhere, facilities exist mainly near metros and usually charge a per unit fee for drop off.
4. Municipal bulk pickup
Many cities collect mattresses on scheduled bulk days, sometimes free, sometimes by appointment, often with wrapping requirements. It works if your city offers it, your timing aligns, and you can get the mattress to the curb legally. The full bulk trash breakdown covers the fine print.
5. Retailer take back
Buying a new mattress? Delivery teams will often haul the old one for an added fee, but only with a purchase and only at delivery. No purchase, no haul.
6. Sell or give it away
A nearly new mattress has some resale life, and free listings move fast. Expect condition questions, no shows, and a buyer who cannot lift. What a used mattress is actually worth sets honest expectations.
What is never on the list
The curb without a scheduled pickup, the dumpster behind the grocery store, and the roadside. All three are illegal dumping in most municipalities, all three risk fines, and one of them has your address on the label.