You're looking forward to getting a comfortable new mattress on your bed, but what can you do with your old mattress when it's no longer needed? Let's take a look at some common disposal options available for old mattresses.
What can you do with your old mattress when it's still in good condition?
If you're replacing a mattress that is still in good order but is simply not comfortable enough for you to sleep on night after night, you might be able to find a home for it on another bed. Perhaps you could use it on a guest bed in your spare bedroom. It may not be comfy enough for daily use, but it could be good enough for guests to sleep on every now and again.
Alternatively, you might know of someone who is on the lookout for a cheap or free mattress for their own guest bedroom, or even for their own bed if the mattress is in particularly good condition and isn't too old. Check with your friends, family and neighbours. You could also consider listing the mattress on classified advertising sites. Just be sure to stipulate that it must be collected from your home so that you don't have to worry about arranging delivery.
You could also consider donating the mattress to an organisation like the British Heart Foundation or British Red Cross. Charities often collect these types of items for free so that you don't have the hassle of removing it yourself, and you can rest assured the mattress will have a new lease of life while raising some money for a good cause. However, the mattress will have to be in a good, useable condition. You might have to send pictures of it to the charity first so that they can rest assured they're not wasting time picking up a mattress that isn't in good enough condition to resell.
Take it to a local tip or recycling centre
What can you do with your old mattress when it's too worn to find a new home? You ought to recycle it where possible. Most local tips can take mattresses, but not all of them then send them along to recycling facilities. It's difficult to recycle mattresses as only some of their parts are recyclable, and breaking them down is a labour-intensive process. Many local tips will simply send old mattresses off to landfill where they take decades to break down. To minimise the environmental impact of your old mattress, it is better to take it to a dedicated recycling centre where it will be broken down properly. The springs can be melted down and used to make new metal components, while synthetic layers could be used to make new products such as carpet underlay.
No matter if you choose to drop your old mattress at a tip or a recycling centre, you'll need a large enough vehicle to transport it there. Some mattresses are soft and thin enough to be rolled up and fastened with rope for easier transportation, but this is difficult with large and deep mattresses. Single mattresses are much easier to handle than double and king-size, but you'll probably need a helping hand no matter how large or small the mattress is.
Product: Denver Wooden Bed
Arrange removal via your local council or a private company
Most local councils provide a removal service for bulky waste items like mattresses, but this service is usually not free. Most councils will have an affordable rate per item, or they'll charge a flat rate to collect a number of items in a single visit. In case of the latter, you could use it as an opportunity to get rid of any other bulky items at the same time, or perhaps you could share the cost with neighbours if they have any large waste items in need of disposal.
Council waste removal services tend to be curbside only. This means you will have to move the mattress outside yourself and leave it in an accessible place - on your property and not on public land - ready for collection. If you will struggle to move the mattress yourself and don't have anyone to help you, a council-provided service might not be suitable for you. Bear in mind also that there is no guarantee your local council will recycle the mattress. Most simply state that they recycle as much waste as possible, but they may not have facilities available for mattress recycling.
There are plenty of private bulky waste removal services available which can provide an in-house collection service if you'll struggle to get the mattress outside by yourself. You can expect to pay more than council services, but this might be worth it for the convenience. Once again, there's no guarantee that the old mattress will end up being recycled rather than being taken to landfill, but you could check with a business before booking with them.
Have it removed by the courier which delivers your new mattress
Many mattress retailers, including us at Endurance Beds, offer a mattress removal service at an extra cost when delivering new mattresses. This means that when your new bed or mattress is delivered, our courier team will remove the old bed or mattress at the same time so that you don't have to deal with the hassle of getting rid of it yourself.
It's important to note that our removal service is provided on a like-for-like basis. So if you've ordered just a mattress from us and have opted to add our removal service, we will only remove your old mattress and will not take an old bed frame as well. If you've ordered both a bed frame and a mattress, we will take both your old frame and mattress if you have paid for our removal service.
Our disposal service is also available with the assembly of your new bed or mattress. This is a really handy option if you want your transition to your new bed to be as simple and seamless as possible. Once your order is ready to be dispatched our dedicated couriers will arrange a 3-hour delivery slot with you, and when they arrive they'll dismantle and remove your old bed and mattress and get your new one set up for you for complete convenience.
