Can I Recycle My Old Mattress?
Good Question

Q: Do you know if you can recycle a mattress? What do people do with an old mattress in New York City? I am moving in with my boyfriend and I have a very old mattress/box spring I don't need/want. Thought it might be something other people might like to know as well.

Sent by AK

Editor: AK, the first thing we did when we read your question is to go Earth911.org to see what they had to say. And, unfortunately, only one thing came up when we asked where in NYC to recycle mattresses... the Salvation Army. And that's only if your mattress is still in fine condition. There are mattress recycling facilities in other parts of the country (most notably in Oakland, California where the DR3 Mattress Recycling program—founded by the Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, Oregon— receives and processes more than 500 used mattresses every day), but in New York our options are slim. The closest mattress recycling program we could find is Conigliaro Industries in Framingham, MA. You might also try to list it on Freecycle in hopes that someone might want to disassemble it for parts. Most home-furnishing stores or mattress outlets will take your old mattress, but that's usually only if you buy a new one from them (and there's no guarantee they won't end up dumping it themselves, so ask first). They might recycle it for parts, though, so it's worth checking out.

Check out this post on AT:DC for more mattress recycling info, as well as these links, which we thought had a lot of helpful information:

• How and Where to Recycle Old Mattresses
• Earth Talk: Can You Recycle Your Old Mattress?
• Planet Green's How and Where To Recycle Your Old Mattress

Any readers know of other NYC resources for recycling old mattresses?

Have a good question? Email us!

Image: Flickr member Robin Gallagher licensed under Creative Commons.

Comments (4)

I think the best you can do if it's really past it's prime is remove the fabric outer cover and stuffing (VERY difficult) and take them to a fabric recycling place, then take the springs to a metal recycling place. Not a great option.

In los angeles if you call 311 they will schedule a free pick up from your house/apt and take care of donating/recycling these pieces for you.

This is actually a huge problem - mattresses are hard to recycle. We don't really have another use for them. You will actually see design contests pop up now and again focused on recycle/reuse ideas for old mattresses. Good luck!

In any city there is a very simple way to get your mattress recycled or in many cases, re-used.

If you're buying a new one, make sure the store hauls away your old one. They are usually very happy to do so, because they make money selling them to used mattress retailers and mass-recyclers.(usually just pulling out the innerspring, then grinding up the fabric)

If you're not buying a new mattress, just call the customer service line of a major mattress retailer in your area, and ask if you can drop off the bed at their warehouse. They will usually be more than happy.

In Chicago back to bed offers drop offs: http://www.backtobed.com