The free recycling route in California, the real options in Arizona, what never to do, and how to have an old mattress hauled during a move. From a asset-based carrier operating since 2010.
Quick answer: In California, the easiest and free route is the statewide Bye Bye Mattress program, run by the Mattress Recycling Council: drop your old mattress at a participating collection site at no additional charge, or have the retailer take it when a new one is delivered. Arizona has no statewide program, so use your city bulk-trash pickup, a transfer station, or a hauler. Never put a mattress in a curbside recycling bin or dump it illegally, which carries fines in both states. If you are moving, Ontrack Moving® can haul the old mattress away for a flat $75 per mattress at the same time (we accept clean, pest-free mattresses, no bed bugs).
See our junk removal and haul-away service, and if you are packing up, our moving checklist covers what to handle before moving day.
California runs a statewide used-mattress recycling program branded Bye Bye Mattress, operated by the nonprofit Mattress Recycling Council. It is paid for by a recycling fee collected when you buy a new mattress or box spring, which means dropping off an old one at a participating collection site costs nothing extra at the point of disposal. The program lists permanent drop-off locations and periodic collection events across the state, including the Bay Area.
There are two easy paths. First, if you are buying a replacement, ask the retailer to take the old mattress at delivery: California law (Public Resources Code 42992) requires the retailer to offer free pickup of your old mattress at delivery, though a retailer may refuse one it determines is contaminated. Second, if you are not buying new, look up a participating drop-off site and bring the mattress there. Either way it can be diverted from the landfill, because the steel, foam, wood, and fiber inside a mattress are recyclable when handled through the right channel.
Arizona does not have a statewide mattress recycling program, so disposal runs through local services rather than a single recycling network. Three options cover most situations. Municipal bulk-trash pickup, sometimes called uncontained or large-item collection, is offered by many Phoenix-metro cities on a set schedule, so check whether your town collects large items weekly, monthly, or by appointment. Most transfer stations and landfills accept a mattress for a tipping fee if you can haul it yourself. Call ahead, since acceptance rules and residency requirements vary by facility. And a junk-removal or moving company can pick it up when hauling it yourself is not practical.
Because there is no fee-funded recycling program, an Arizona mattress is more likely to be landfilled than recycled. If keeping it out of the landfill matters to you, ask a hauler whether they route mattresses to a recycler, and confirm your city bulk-pickup rules so the mattress is set out correctly and actually gets collected.
Two mistakes cause most of the trouble. Do not put a mattress in your curbside recycling cart: it is not accepted there and will not be collected, and it can jam recycling equipment. And do not leave a mattress on the street, in an alley, or on vacant land. That is illegal dumping, and it carries fines in both California and Arizona, on top of the cleanup cost. Bulk-item pickup, a transfer station, a recycling program, or a hauler are the legitimate routes.
A move is the most common reason people finally deal with an old mattress, and it is the easiest time to do it right. Rather than leaving the mattress behind for a landlord to charge you for, or wrestling it to a transfer station yourself, a mover with junk-removal service can take it as part of the job. Ontrack Moving® is an asset-based carrier under USDOT #2551548 that offers haul-away for a flat $75 per mattress, so the mattress you are replacing leaves with the crew and is routed to recycling or legal disposal. For health and contamination reasons we accept mattresses in clean, sanitary condition and free of pests, so a soiled or bed-bug-infested mattress needs a specialized disposal service instead. For everything else on your list before the truck arrives, use our moving checklist.
How do I dispose of a mattress for free in California? California runs a statewide mattress recycling program called Bye Bye Mattress, operated by the Mattress Recycling Council and funded by a recycling fee collected when you buy a new mattress. Residents can drop off used mattresses and box springs at participating collection sites and recycling events at no additional charge. California law (Public Resources Code 42992) requires a retailer to offer free pickup of your used mattress when a new one is delivered, at no additional cost, though a retailer may refuse a mattress it determines is contaminated.
Where can I dispose of a mattress in Arizona? Arizona does not have a statewide mattress recycling program, so the options are your city or town bulk-trash (uncontained) pickup, dropping the mattress at a local transfer station or landfill, or using a junk-removal or moving company to haul it. Check your municipality for the bulk-pickup schedule, since Phoenix-area cities run bulk pickup weekly, monthly, or by appointment depending on the city, and Phoenix itself is appointment-based.
Can you throw a mattress in the trash? Not in a regular curbside cart, and never in a curbside recycling bin. A mattress has to go through bulk-item pickup, a transfer station, a recycling program, or a hauler. Dumping a mattress on the street or on vacant land is illegal dumping and carries fines in both California and Arizona.
Can Ontrack take away my old mattress during a move? Yes. Ontrack Moving® offers junk removal and haul-away for a flat $75 per mattress, so the mattress you are replacing can be taken at the same time we handle your move and routed to recycling or legal disposal. Final charges will be based on actual labor time, materials used, access conditions, scope changes, waiting time, and any additional services requested or required to complete the move. For health and contamination reasons we accept mattresses in sanitary condition and free of pests such as bed bugs.
