Mattresses and box springs collected in our large item program. There is no fee sticker required.

Mattresses and box springs are collected as part of the Streets Division's large item program.

For curbside pickup, schedule your collection using the online work order form.

To drop them off, just take them to a drop-off site when the site is open. There is no fee for disposing of a mattress or box spring. You do not need to use the work order to drop-off items that do not require a fee.

 

what happens to the mattress?

Beginning in January 2021, mattresses and box springs are sent to the Dane County Landfill.

Prior to this, our mattresses were hauled to Bay Area Recycling for Charities in Michigan for disassembly and recycling.

 

you used to recycle mattresses.  what changed?

The mattress recycling program was cut from the budget thanks to the shortfalls caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mattress recycling is labor intensive and done by hand. And therefore, it can be expensive. (Here's a video of a version of the mattress recycling process from the Boston Globe - note they are talking about Massachusetts, not Wisconsin). 

Mattress recycling is also important. They eat up a big volume of air space in landfills because they do not compact. They are also get tangled around equipment.

We are also wasting resources. The steel, polyurethane foam, wood, and fabric padding can all be recycled.

We see thousands of mattresses every year, so we understand the importance of recycling them. But, the pandemic forced everyone to make hard choices, and cutting this program was one.

This does not mean we are giving up. We will continue to search for a way to resume this program, and once again recycle mattresses.