Everyday items

How do I dispose of an old mattress?

Use a bulky-waste collection, mattress-recycling programme, reuse service or recycling centre that explicitly accepts mattresses.

Complete answer

The answer

Do not leave a mattress beside a recycling container unless a scheduled municipal bulky-waste service instructs you to do so. Mattresses are large composite products and require dismantling or specialist processing.

A clean mattress in usable condition may have a reuse route. Mattresses contaminated by pests, mould, bodily fluids or chemicals can be subject to different handling restrictions.

What to do

  • Check reuse first if the mattress is clean and serviceable.
  • Book bulky-waste collection or find a mattress-accepting centre.
  • Follow contamination or pest-control instructions where relevant.

Related WasteSpot resources

These links are optional follow-up resources. The complete answer is provided above.

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