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This Old Mattress: Smart Removal Ideas for When You Buy a New Bed

Colorful beautiful velvet pillows on hotel bed

Regardless of how advanced mattresses have become, each and every one will have a lifespan and will eventually need getting rid of. As the covers grow thin, the memory foam starts to lose its shape or the springs start to weaken, you’ll no doubt find yourself having to replace your mattress at some point or other.

However, when you’ve made the decision as to what new mattress you’re going to buy (or if you need help with what mattress you’re going to choose, you can see it at Mattress-Guides.net) you’ll now need to decide what you’re going to do with your old one. And getting rid of this cumbersome, large object may seem like an arduous task, but there are several options available to you that will make this far easier than you initially thought.

Government Mattress Collection

If you are getting rid of a used mattress, a lot of municipalities will have certain guidelines and specifications that you must follow. You may find that they require you to dispose of it in a certain way (e.g. putting it in a specific bag type) and some will also charge you for this service. In order to find out what your state requires, you’ll need to check your local government website.

There are also Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws in some states, including Rhode Island, California and Connecticut. These help to reduce the number of people who will just dump their mattress on the street to get rid of it, and also free up the time of government workers by putting the onus back on the mattress producer. With these laws, the purchaser of a mattress will pay an upfront fee that will fund the collection and disposal of their mattress when they’ve finished with it, thus helping to promote mattress recycling.

You will also find that there are a number of private companies who offer to take away your mattress for you for a certain cost. This may be a beneficial service if you aren’t in a state with EPR laws and you’re having problems locating your local recycling center.

Recycling Your Old Mattress

If you can, recycling your old mattress is a choice that’s better for the environment, your city and your wallet. However, recycling mattresses isn’t often the first thought that springs to mind as many believe that mattresses aren’t recyclable. However, they are, with almost every element contained within your mattress being recyclable. And as many municipalities won’t pick up your mattress, you’ll find that there are many not-for-profit and private companies that will take your mattress away for free, repurposing it themselves.

A great resource when trying to find someone to recycle your mattress is the Mattress Recycling Council. They’ll help you to find a facility in your area and you can then set a time for them to pick up your mattress where they’ll then take it to the processing center and break it down. Your mattress components will then be separated into metal, cotton fiber, polyurethane foam etc. to be used for a whole host of other products.

Donating Your Mattress to Charity

Another equally good cause is to donate your mattress to charity. And even though you might not have a need for your mattress anymore, there will be plenty of people that will be glad for it. Charities include the Salvation Army, the National Furniture Bank Association, local homeless centers, Habitat for Humanity and other local charities in your area. You may find that certain charities have a few stipulations about what mattresses they’ll collect (for hygiene purposes) so always check these out when you get in touch with them.

Whatever you decide to do when it comes to recycling your mattress, make sure it’s not one of those that ends up in a landfill site or dumped on the side of the road. With more than 85% of a mattress’s components being recyclable, there’s no reason why they should be taking up vast amounts of space in a landfill site. Thankfully, all of the available options there are for mattresses are starting to work, though.

Finally, it’s also worth considering whether you actually need to throw out your old mattress. If it is starting to get a little bit uncomfortable, you should maybe consider whether a memory foam mattress topper will do the trick. Whilst it isn’t a permanent solution, it could provide your mattress with some extra life, saving you some money and keeping your mattress in use for a little bit longer!

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