Getting rid of an old mattress is not as easy as you might think, but it’s important to do it the right way. In the UK alone, more than 7 million mattresses are thrown away each year. Most of these mattresses end up in landfills, where they take years to break down. While the landfill might be the most popular option, it is not the only way to get rid of your old mattresses.
Council Collection Services
Most local councils across England and Wales offer a bulky waste collection service that includes mattresses, though this convenience typically comes with a fee. Some councils charge as little as £20 for a single collection, while others charge £80 or more. Some councils, like Liverpool City Council and a few London boroughs, will pick up large amounts of trash for free, but this is not very common.
How much does bulk collection cost? The fees charged by local councils for bulk waste pickup vary a lot. For example, Argyll and Bute Council charges £80.90 for a 10-minute pickup, while Wealden District Council charges about £62 for three items. If you live in England or Wales, you can find out how much your local council charges by entering your postcode on the gov.uk website. For people living in Scotland or Northern Ireland, they can go to their council’s website to find out.
When booking a bulk collection with your local council, read the terms carefully. A bed frame and mattress are usually two different things, and you might have to leave things in a certain place for collection. Even though council collection is easy, it doesn’t always mean that your mattress will be recycled instead of thrown away. It’s a good idea to check your local authority’s recycling policy.
Recycling Your Mattress
Recycling mattresses is good for the environment because it keeps them out of the landfill where it can take years to break down. A lot of people fail to realize that mattresses have several parts that can be recycled, like metal springs, foam, and fabric. The metal springs are melted down so they can be used in new products, the foam is shredded to make carpet padding or upholstery, and the fabrics are turned into new textiles.
Many local recycling centres across the UK accept mattresses. But you might want to call them before you go as some centres may charge extra fees or have specific requirements. If you have access to a vehicle large enough to transport your mattress, you can take it to your nearest household recycling centre. However, some companies that recycle mattresses will pick them up for a fee and make sure they are taken apart and recycled correctly.
Retailer Collection Services
A survey from December 2024 found that about half of the consumers in the UK use retailer collection services when they get rid of a mattress. A retailer collection service is where Ikea, Argos, and other retailers pick up old mattresses when they deliver a new one. How much this collection service costs varies, but you can expect to pay around £20 to £55.
You should, however, make sure that the company will actually recycle your mattress instead of throwing it away. Also, check the retailer’s collection fee against your local council’s fees to make sure you aren’t paying too much. It is also worth thinking about how certain you are about keeping your new mattress. Returning it would leave you without a bed if the old one has already been collected.
Donating to Charity
If your mattress is still in good condition, donating it to charity is a great way to help others while keeping it out of landfill. The British Heart Foundation, the British Red Cross, Emmaus, Sue Ryder, and the YMCA are just a few of the big UK charities that will take your mattress donations. They will even pick them up for free. The British Heart Foundation, for example, offers free furniture collection services and sells donated mattresses in their charity shops, with proceeds funding vital heart disease research.
What condition must a mattress be in to donate? Charities only take mattresses if they are in useable condition. What this means is they must be clean and free from stains. They cannot be broken or damaged, and a valid fire safety label must still be attached. Before you donate a mattress, it’s always best to call the charity first to see if they will actually take it. Some places might ask you to send pictures to prove its in useable condition.
Using a Skip
While it is possible, placing a mattress in a skip is not always easy and comes with additional costs. Because they take up a lot of space, contain a mix of materials that are hard to recycle, and should not be thrown away in landfills, mattresses are considered bulky waste and need to be handled in a certain way. Most skip hire companies don’t include mattresses in their regular pricing or charge an extra fee, usually around £25 plus VAT. If you put a mattress in a skip without asking, you might have to pay extra fees when they come to pick it up or their could refuse to pick up your skip.
Illegal Disposal and Penalties
Fly-tipping, which includes illegally dumping mattresses along the roadside or in public spaces, is a serious offence under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act. People who break the law can be fined up to £50,000 or sent to jail for a year. In a recent case, Cumberland Council successfully prosecuted a fly-tipper who dumped a mattress in Carlisle, resulting in fines and costs totalling over £1,000. Beyond the legal consequences, illegally disposing of mattresses harms the environment, attracts pests and creates hazards for the community.
You should never burn your mattress because it releases harmful fumes that are bad for both people and the environment, and the fire can be hard to put out. Similarly, placing your mattress in someone else’s skip without permission is not only rude, but potentially illegal.
Environmental Impact
Improperly throwing away a mattress has a big effect on the environment. In the UK, worn-out mattresses made up about 215,000 tonnes of landfill waste in 2016. Mattresses are hard to break down because they are made of a mix of materials including metal springs, foam, textiles, and sometimes fire retardants, all of which need careful handling. When mattresses are left to break down in landfills, they release chemicals that cause ground pollution which can lead to toxic effects on plants and animals. However, the National Bed Federation estimates that the mattress recycling rate in 2021 was only around 24%. This means that most mattresses still end up in landfills, even though they have parts that can be recycled.
By choosing responsible disposal methods such as recycling, donating to charity, or using certified collection services, you can help reduce any negative impact on the environment. About 3 million of the household items that are thrown away each year could be reused or recycled. This shows how important it is to make smart choices about how to get rid of things.
