Donating or Disposing of Mattresses & Futons
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Mattress re-use?
April 2014
It seems a shame to throw out our perfectly good and clean queen size mattress and frame. Its only a few years old, was good quality, firm and quite expensive. Plus we've always used a mattress cover. I understand the recent concerns with bed bugs but we've never had any problems with bugs and most people don't. Any suggestions on how we can donate, recycle mattresses? Conscious Sleeper
List it on craiglist as free. Someone will take it. I have given and received mattresses this way.
I highly recommend Freecycle (I belong to the Oakland group) for this kind of thing. We had to replace a perfectly good king-sized mattress a year or two ago, and it was snapped up immediately. Please don't toss it if it's clean and in good shape! Freecycler
We have sold several on Craigslist -- people came and looked/smelled and took them with them... Easy
Recycling a memory foam mattress topper
Sept 2013
We have an old queen memory foam mattress topper and would like to recycle it. Any suggestions? Thanks anon
I think Famous Foam Factory on San Pablo would recycle it for a few dollars. I got my couch cushions' foam replaced and they recycled my old foam, but did charge a small fee. http://www.famousfoam.com/ yay recycling
Put it on free cycle; someone will take: http://www.freecycle.org/. Good luck. Rebecca
2005 - 2009 Recommendations
Donating a futon mattress without the frame
Jan 2005
I have an used Futon Mattress without frame. I contacted Goodwill, Salvation Army and Urban Ore, but none of them takes Futon Mattress. Any recommendations on where I can donate or recyle?
Post it on Craig's list. I had an old futon mattress to donate and a women's shelter in SF took it. I don't remember the name of the place, though, but I posted an ad on Craig's list that they responded to. Sue
Post it in the 'Free' section of Craigslist: https://post.craigslist.org/sfo/S/zip. You won't get a tax deduction, but obviously the futon (and thus the deduction) isn't worth very much or these charities wouldn't be turning it down. David
Post it for free on the Parent's Network. I put one on and said it would serve as a play surface and within 3 days got 2 takers! JM
2004 & Earlier
Disposing of an old crib mattress
March 2003
I have an old crib mattress that I need to dispose of. Its not good enough to donate. but I hate to dump it. Isn't there a place that takes apart used mattresses and recycles what they can? Does anyone have that info? Thanks. Hilary
St. Vincent de Paul's sells refurbished mattresses (in adult sizes) that I assume they recycle from donated old ones. Try them. There's one in Berkeley and one in Oakland, both on San Pablo Blvd. Marty
Try calling the Waste Management site at the Davis Street landfill in San Leandro.They have a program to recycle mattresses. HA
Check the Alameda County recycling info site: http://stopwaste.org/fsrecycle.html (select special materials in the menu) They list several places that will accept mattresses for recycling (for a small fee). R.K.
Who takes mattress donations?
2001
Does anyone know of an organization who takes mattress donations, preferably one that will come pick them up? Deirdre
Salvation Army will come to your house and pick up your mattress. ML
I believe that state law requires that used mattresses be sanitized before they're resold, so it is prohibitively expensive for most organizations to recycle them. However, I have a vague memory of having driven an old mattress down to St. Vincent de Paul's recycling center in Oakland, near the Coliseum BART station, and having this explained to me. I believe that I had called around and they were the only ones to take it. You might give them a call. VM
I have in the past donated matresses to the Richmond Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter. I believe that they can pick the matresses up. Nancy