How to Dispose of a Mattress Responsibly: A Quick Guide

“How to dispose of a mattress?” – This question is becoming increasingly more prominent as the sleep industry grows and people start to understand the importance of their sleeping environment. Learn how to dispose of a mattress responsibly and why it matters to do so in this article.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, a good mattress lasts for nine to ten years and should be replaced accordingly. However, many brands and professionals advise to change it every five to seven years, especially if you have sleep problems.

Similar to electronics, mattresses are some of the most troublesome items to get rid of. A mattress usually consists of wood, steel, foams, and cotton, with the foams being the only recyclable material – the rest have to be recycled at specialized facilities. Also, landfill sites tend to charge a lot more for mattresses because they are bulky, big and inconvenient to transport. They are hard to crush and may jam machinery, which is why many landfills even refuse to take old mattresses.

On top of that, landfills are already overflowing and there is a finite amount of trash they can hold. As a result, mattresses are often left on curb sides and alleyways, which is an improper way to deal with the problem, to say the least. To help you with the matter, we have gathered together seven tips on how to dispose of a mattress responsibly:

1. Consider a New Mattress Seller that Will Also Take Away Your Old Mattress

A number of mattress brands offer to take your old mattress and dispose of it themselves, either for free or at an additional cost, when delivering your new mattress. For instance, industry-leading Saatva, Nectar, and Loom and Leaf brands will take away your old mattress free of charge: all you need to do is simply check the “Mattress Removal” box when buying.

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2. Return to the Manufacturer

Many manufacturers have a mattress disposal service. If you’ve purchased a mattress from a brand, check their website to see if they will help you get rid of your old mattress, or look for a number on the mattress itself to contact them. Proper mattress disposal is becoming more prominent with each year, and more and more brands are taking steps to improve the sleeping industry in any way they can, including disposal and recycling services.

3. Sell or Donate to Charity

Selling an old mattress over the web might seem like a solid idea, but there are a few caveats. First of all, if the mattress is old and ragged, and you consider it unusable for yourself, then it’s most likely unusable for anyone else. As you should know, dust mites, bed bugs and bacteria tend to make their way into mattresses as they start losing their protective layers and can cause serious health issues to sleepers. Selling such products, regardless of the price, is similar to intentionally harming somebody.

If you’re going to sell your old mattress, at least make sure that it’s in proper condition, without bugs and mites or any visible signs of wear and tear. Also, you need to take into consideration who you’re selling the mattress too. “There are third parties that will take or buy used bedding, but many of them are unscrupulous renovators, who often just sew a cover over a filthy used mattress, making no effort to properly sterilize the old bed or meet national fire safety standards, and then deceive consumers into thinking they are buying an all-new mattress.” Says Ryan Trainer, president of International Sleep Products Association. Of course, you’ll not be directly responsible for anything, but that’s not a responsible way of mattress disposal.

The points above are valid for mattress donation and giveaways as well. If you’re going to give away something in poor condition that will cause more harm than good, it’s better to avoid such ways of mattress disposal altogether.

4. Offer the Mattress to Animal Shelters

If your mattress is a bit too worn to be sold or donated, you can try to reach out to animal rescue, who’ll be using the mattresses to build bed sites for animals. Rescued animals are usually housed in kennels with cold, hard concrete floors. For an injured cat or dog, that’s another obstacle that may make or break a full recovery. Check your local shelters to see whether they accept old mattresses. If they do, all you have to do is pay the transportation fee, which shouldn’t be too bad.

5. Find a Recycling Facility

A mattress can be recycled at a proper, dedicated facility. You can expect about 90% of materials will be put to use for various purposes:

1. Wood is chipped and used for burning and fuel.
2. Fabrics are repurposed to be used to make other clothing.
3. Cotton fibers are used in filters, insulation or turned into fuel.
4. Metallic parts are melted and used to make other goods.
5. Foams are used in carpet bedding and fuel.

There are currently over 50 mattress recycling facilities in North America, and their numbers are constantly growing. Check this link to see if there is a facility near your home. Some recyclers have contracts with manufacturers and retailers so they’ll accept mattresses only from them, but others may be open to take it or even pick them up from your house for a small fee.

6. Recycle it Yourself

Some recycling facilities may not want to deal with assembled mattresses, but they may be willing to if you break it down into smaller parts. This may sound time-consuming and hard, but it’s not that bad in reality. If you have a backyard or a garage, take out the mattress and disassemble it. Give priority to metal parts, coils, foams, and wood. Foams are recycled easily while wood can be donated or used for fuel. As for the coils, you might even get paid some cash for your efforts.

7. Contact a Junk Removal Service

If you fail to find a recycling center near your home, you can try to contact a junk removal service. Junk removal services operate separately from the common garbage collectors that take out the trash on a weekly basis. These organizations are often contacted when there is a significant amount of junk or big and heavy items – like mattresses – that need to get disposed of.

With the growing concern of landfills and space used for junkyards, many junk removal services do their best to offer eco-friendly ways to get rid of a mattress, like trying to recycle or find some use for it before placing it in a dump. Make sure to calculate the weight of your mattress since the junk removal service may charge you a fee.

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Conclusion

A number of states – California, Connecticut, and Rhode Island – are currently in the process of making proper mattress recycling mandatory. The plan is that it will be subsidized by manufacturers, retailers, and buyers. As more ways for how to dispose of a mattress properly are introduced, instead of simply adding them to landfills, everyone, including our planet, will benefit greatly. Many online mattress retailers offer to take your old mattress with them when you purchase a new one from them. Also, you’ll sleep a lot better knowing that you helped reduce pollution and extend the life of existing landfills. It’s not much, but it’s a start.