Mattress disposal and recycling

As of January 2022, there is a $30 mattress handling fee at King County transfer stations and Cedar Hills landfill on all mattresses, box springs, and futons. This handling fee offsets the cost of mattress recycling and disposal, and serves as another step forward in King County’s commitment to waste reduction and climate neutrality.

Each year, about 375,000 mattresses and box springs, weighing more than 10,000 tons, are disposed of in King County, according to the 2019 waste characterization studyDownload PDF 3 MB. Each piece takes up about one cubic yard of landfill space.

The mattress industry's International Sleep Products AssociationDownload PDF 100 KB estimated that landfills lose money when mattresses are landfilled because municipal solid waste compacts much more than mattresses. A California studyexternal link calculated that the collection and recycling of all of the 4.2 million mattresses and box springs estimated to be thrown out annually in California would create roughly 1,000 jobs, while greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by between 130,000 and 190,000 metric tons (carbon dioxide equivalent).

Mattresses are made up of several recyclable materials, including foam, cotton, wood and steel (see the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protectionexternal link for more on mattress components). Several organizations in Washington State disassemble mattresses, box springs, and futons into their components and recycle them: find a recycling location on our What Do I Do With...? website.

Mattress market development

To strengthen the local mattress collection infrastructure and processing capacity, King County conducted research and outreach, and convened Mattress Recycling Summits in 2011, 2014, and 2017.

Mattress producer responsibility programs

Connecticut, Rhode Island, California, and Oregon passed mattress producer responsibility (EPR) laws establishing industry-run and financed statewide collection and recycling programsexternal link through the Mattress Recycling Councilexternal link . British Columbiaexternal link is planning to implement a province-wide mattress EPR program in 2025. In France, a manufacturer-run EPR program for the collection and recycling of all furniture and mattresses began in 2013: Eco-Mobilierexternal link (French for "eco-furniture") and Valdeliaexternal link

Find more mattress recycling news and resources and visit the Northwest Product Stewardship Council external linkexternal link to learn more about extended producer responsibility (EPR).