Mattress Disposal in the United States

The Reality Nobody Talks About

I've spent 15 years in the mattress industry — first building them, then tearing them apart. My company has recycled over 1.15 million mattresses across all 50 states. I've watched this problem evolve from a minor inconvenience into a genuine crisis.

Here's what most people don't realize until they're standing in their bedroom with a mattress they need gone: getting rid of a mattress in America is a mess.

There's no federal system. State laws are all over the place. Donation centers have largely stopped accepting them. Landfills are increasingly refusing them or charging premium fees. And the whole thing has gotten dramatically worse in just the past few years.

This page is my attempt to explain how we got here, what the laws actually say, and what really happens to mattresses at the end of their life. Consider it a reference guide to a system that nobody designed and nobody controls.

The Numbers Are Staggering

Let me put this in perspective with what I see every day:

That's roughly 50,000 mattresses hitting the waste stream every single day. And I can tell you from experience — the infrastructure to handle them simply doesn't exist in most of the country.

Why Mattresses Are Such a Problem

I get asked this constantly: why are mattresses so hard to get rid of? After tearing apart over a million of them, I can tell you exactly why.

They Don't Compress Like Other Trash

This is the core issue that landfills face. When a garbage truck compactor crushes a load of regular trash, everything flattens. But mattress coils spring back. Foam resists compression.

Landfill operators call these "air pockets" — voids that take up space without actually containing waste. A single mattress occupies roughly 40 cubic feet of landfill space. Multiply that by 50,000+ mattresses discarded daily, and you understand why landfills have turned against them.

They Destroy Equipment

Mattress springs wreak havoc on landfill machinery. I've talked to landfill operators who've shown me the damage — springs tangled in compactor mechanisms, wrapped around axles, puncturing tires.

Health and Sanitation Issues

Used mattresses come with inherent health concerns that affect how they can be transported, stored, donated, and resold:

• Bed bugs (can survive a year without feeding)
• Bodily fluids
• Dust mites
• Mold and mildew

Most states have specific regulations around used mattress sales, typically requiring professional sanitization and special labeling. This regulatory burden is one reason why donation and resale channels have largely dried up.

The Donation Myth

Here's something most people discover the hard way: donation centers almost universally won't take your mattress.

I can't tell you how many customers have called us after spending hours trying to donate a perfectly good mattress, only to get rejected everywhere they tried.

The Reality at Major Charities

Why This Changed

This wasn't always the case. But bed bug incidents, liability concerns, and the economics of sanitization have made mattress donations impractical for most organizations.

As Goodwill SF Bay explained: dealing with unsellable donations costs them money that could otherwise fund their programs. When mattresses can't be sold — which is most of the time — they become an expense, not a resource.

What's Happening With Landfills

This is the part of the story that's changing fastest, and it's making life harder for everyone trying to get rid of a mattress.

Landfills Are Saying No

More and more landfills are either refusing mattresses entirely or charging premium fees that make disposal prohibitively expensive.

When I started in this business, you could take a mattress to most landfills for a few bucks. Now? Frederick County, Maryland charges $28 per mattress. Denver's Arapahoe Disposal Site charges $74. Many facilities have stopped accepting them altogether.

Why This Is Happening

The math has simply stopped working for landfills:

1. Equipment damage — Springs destroy compactors
2. Space inefficiency — Mattresses take up 4x more space than equivalent weight of other trash
3. Labor costs — Handling mattresses requires extra work
4. Regulatory pressure — Some states are pushing landfills to divert mattresses

What This Means For You

If you're in a state without an EPR program, your options are shrinking:

• Municipal bulk pickup may have long wait times or extra fees
• Landfills may refuse your mattress or charge $30-75
• Private removal services become the default option

This is exactly why companies like mine exist. When the traditional disposal infrastructure fails, someone has to fill the gap.

The States That Have Figured It Out

Four states have implemented Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs that actually work. If you live in one of these states, mattress disposal is dramatically easier — and often free.

How EPR Works

The concept is simple: manufacturers add a small fee to every new mattress sold. That money funds recycling infrastructure — drop-off locations, collection programs, and processing facilities.

The result? Free or low-cost disposal for consumers, and recycling rates that dwarf the national average.

Current EPR States

The Connecticut Success Story

Connecticut's transformation is remarkable. Before EPR, the state's mattress recycling rate was around 8.7%. Today? 74%.

That's not a typo. They went from recycling fewer than 1 in 10 mattresses to recycling nearly 3 in 4. The program has diverted over 30,000 tons of material from landfills — steel, foam, fiber, and wood that now gets reused instead of buried.

California's Scale

California's program is the largest, which makes sense given the state's population. Some highlights:

• 240+ permanent collection sites
• 98.4% of residents live within 15 miles of a drop-off location
• Retailers are required to offer free take-back when delivering new mattresses
• 13+ million mattresses recycled since 2016
• 490 million pounds of material recovered

States Considering EPR

Several states are actively working on mattress recycling legislation:

• New York — S1463/A1209 introduced January 2025
• Washington — HB 1901 proposes implementation by July 2029
• Massachusetts — EPR commission studying mattresses, recommendations due January 2026
• Maryland — HB 1355 introduced
• Virginia — HB 745 continued to 2025

The Massachusetts Situation

Massachusetts deserves special mention because it illustrates what happens when you ban landfilling without funding alternatives.

The Ban

Effective November 1, 2022, Massachusetts banned mattresses from landfills and incinerators. You literally cannot legally throw away a mattress in Massachusetts.

The Problem

But here's the thing: banning disposal doesn't create disposal options.

Massachusetts doesn't have an EPR program to fund infrastructure. The state provided $2.7 million in grants to help municipalities set up recycling, but that's a one-time injection, not sustainable funding.

Massachusetts actually achieves a 66% recycling rate — impressive compared to the national average. But the burden falls entirely on consumers and municipalities rather than being funded by manufacturers.

Illegal Dumping: The Predictable Consequence

When disposal gets expensive and inconvenient, some people take the obvious shortcut: they dump mattresses illegally.

I see this constantly. Mattresses abandoned on roadsides, in parking lots, behind dumpsters, in wooded areas. It's gotten worse as landfill fees have increased and options have shrunk.

The Penalties Are Serious

EPR Reduces Dumping

Here's the thing: when you give people free, convenient disposal options, most of them use them.

California's program includes an Illegally Dumped Mattress Collection Initiative that has removed over 512,000 dumped mattresses from public spaces since 2016. They pay municipalities $1.14 million annually just for this cleanup.

The lesson is clear: punishment alone doesn't solve illegal dumping. Convenient alternatives do.

What Actually Happens When We Recycle a Mattress

This is my world. Let me walk you through what happens when a mattress arrives at our facility.

The Process Is Almost Entirely Manual

Here's something that surprises most people: about 90% of mattress recycling is manual labor. Workers with utility knives cut, rip, and separate materials by hand.

A single mattress takes 5-15 minutes to fully dismantle, depending on construction. There's no machine that does this efficiently — the variety of materials and construction methods makes automation extremely difficult.

What We Recover

The average mattress yields roughly 40-65 pounds of recyclable material:

When done right, 80-95% of a mattress can be diverted from landfill. California's program alone has recovered 490 million pounds of material since 2016.

What Can't Be Recycled

Not every mattress makes it through. We have to reject mattresses that are:

• Wet or heavily water-damaged — Mold makes them unsafe to process
• Contaminated with bodily fluids — Health hazard for workers
• Infested with bed bugs — Can spread to the facility
• Heavily soiled or moldy — Can't be safely handled

This is why condition matters. A mattress that sat outside in the rain, or one that was stored in a damp basement, often has to be landfilled even if it arrives at a recycling facility.

The Economics Don't Work Without EPR

Here's the uncomfortable truth: mattress recycling isn't profitable on its own.

The recovered materials have value, but not enough to cover the labor costs of manual disassembly, transportation, and facility operations. This is why recycling typically costs consumers more than landfilling — and why EPR programs that fund the difference are so important.

Used Mattress Resale Laws

If you're thinking about selling your old mattress, you need to understand the regulations. This gets complicated.

Federal Requirements

The FTC requires honest disclosure of condition. Any mattress containing used stuffing must have a tag stating "SECONDHAND STUFFING" or "PREVIOUSLY USED STUFFING."

The Tag Color System

State-by-State Regulations

States requiring sanitization before sale: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia

States with special restrictions:

• Kansas — Outright ban on retail used mattress sales
• New York — Requires special license for retailers
• Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Washington — Prohibit retailer sales but allow individual-to-individual

Important note: Most of these regulations apply to businesses, not individuals selling privately. But if you're running any kind of resale operation, you need to understand your state's requirements.

The Disposal Options That Actually Exist

Let me break down what's actually available, based on what I see working (and not working) across the country. I cover each of these in detail in my complete guide to mattress disposal options.

1. Mattress Recycling Pickup Service

Professional recycling pickup is available nationwide with next-day service in many areas. Everything gets recycled — nothing goes to landfill. See details in my full guide.

2. Municipal Bulk Pickup Service

Many cities include mattress pickup in their bulk waste programs. Availability, cost, and wait times vary dramatically — some cities offer this free, others charge $30-75, many don't offer it at all.

3. Drop Off at Landfill or Recycling Facility

If you have a truck, you can haul it yourself to a landfill ($20-$75) or recycling facility. In EPR states, find free drop-off locations at ByeByeMattress.com.

4. DIY Mattress Breakdown

Technically possible, but I don't recommend it for most people. Springs are under tension and can snap back dangerously. Takes 30-60 minutes of messy labor, and you still have to dispose of the components separately.

5. Sell or Give Away

Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and Nextdoor can work for mattresses in good condition. Be aware of your state's used mattress sale regulations.

6. Junk Removal Companies

Companies like 1-800-GOT-JUNK, LoadUp, and College Hunks charge $75-$200+ depending on location and volume. Most send mattresses to landfill, not recycling.

7. Donation

The hardest option. Most charities don't accept mattresses anymore. Goodwill says no, Salvation Army rarely accepts them, and Habitat ReStore generally won't take them.

Common Misconceptions

After 15 years in this industry, I hear the same myths constantly. Let me set the record straight.

What I Think Needs to Change

After processing over a million mattresses, I have opinions about this.

EPR Works

The evidence is overwhelming. Connecticut went from 9% to 74% recycling. California processes millions of mattresses annually. The programs fund themselves through small fees that consumers barely notice.

Every state should have a mattress EPR program. Period.

Landfills Aren't the Answer

Even in states without bans, landfilling mattresses is terrible policy. They take up excessive space, damage equipment, and persist for a century or more. As disposal costs rise, illegal dumping increases.

We need to make recycling the default, not landfilling.

The Infrastructure Gap Is Real

There are only about 60 mattress recycling facilities in the entire country. That's not enough. EPR programs fund infrastructure development — that's one of their most important functions.

Manufacturers Should Design for Recyclability

This is the long game. Some mattress designs are nearly impossible to recycle efficiently — glued components, mixed materials, fiberglass fire barriers. If manufacturers designed with end-of-life in mind, recycling would be faster and cheaper.

The Bottom Line

Mattress disposal in America is broken. The traditional infrastructure has failed, leaving consumers confused and frustrated.

But there's hope. EPR programs prove that with proper funding and infrastructure, mattress recycling can become the norm, not the exception. Connecticut's transformation from 9% to 74% shows what's possible.

If you're struggling to get rid of a mattress, you're not alone. The system wasn't designed to handle this problem — and in most of the country, nobody's redesigned it yet.

Until that changes, your best options are:

• EPR state? Use the free drop-off locations at ByeByeMattress.com
• Buying new? Ask the retailer about take-back
• Neither? Private removal services or municipal bulk pickup

And if you're frustrated by how hard this is, know that you're not imagining it. It really is this complicated. The system is a mess.

But it's slowly getting better. One state at a time.