Short answer: you have four legal ways to get rid of a mattress in Massachusetts — have the store take it when a new one is delivered, use your town’s mattress program, hire a private recycler or hauler, or donate it if it is genuinely still good. What you cannot do is put it out with the trash.
Mattress disposal in Massachusetts, in one line
On November 1, 2022, MassDEP added mattresses and box springs to the state’s waste bans. That means they cannot go into the household trash, and a solid-waste facility is not allowed to accept them mixed in with it.
Three things people usually get wrong about the rule:
- It covers the box spring too. A bed set is two banned items, not one.
- Condition does not matter. Torn, stained, twenty years old — the ban applies to all of it.
- It is not a town rule you can wait out. It is a state waste ban, and every city and town in Massachusetts is under it.
Why the state banned them
A mattress is mostly steel, foam, wood and fabric, and MassDEP says more than 75 percent of what is inside one can be reused once it is taken apart. They are also miserable for a landfill: bulky, springy, and they trap air. Keeping them out of the trash stream was the cheaper answer.
For you, that changes one practical thing. Getting rid of a mattress is no longer free, and it is no longer automatic.
Your four options
1. Let the store take it
Most mattress and furniture retailers will haul the old one away when they deliver the new one, often for a small fee or included in delivery. If you are buying a replacement anyway, this is the easiest path — but you have to ask when you order, not when the truck shows up.
2. Your town’s program
Nearly every North Shore town now contracts a recycler for mattresses, separate from the regular trash. It is usually the cheapest option, and it comes with two conditions: you pay per piece, and the mattress has to be at the curb by 7am on a date they choose. See the table below for what your town charges.
3. A private recycler or hauler
Costs more than the town route and takes the two hard parts off your hands: the schedule and the stairs. A hauler comes to the room the mattress is in, carries it out, and takes it to the recycling facility.
4. Donation
Possible, but narrower than people expect. Most shelters and charities will not accept a used mattress at all, and the ones that do will not take anything stained, torn, sagging or from a home that has had bed bugs. If it would not be good enough for a guest room, it is not a donation.
What each North Shore town charges
These are the programs and fees published by each town as of August 2026. Fees change, so confirm on the town’s own site before you plan around a number.
| Town | How mattress disposal works there |
|---|---|
| Lynn | Not accepted as a bulk item since November 2022. Drop off at the DPW on Commercial Street for $35, or book curbside mattress pickup for $65. |
| Salem | $40 per piece at the curb, scheduled through UTEC. A mattress and a box spring are billed separately. |
| Beverly | Curbside pickup contracted to Tough Stuff Recycling, booked and paid directly with them. Out by 7am on your appointment day. |
| Peabody | No longer collected with the regular trash. Arranged separately, apart from the normal pickup. |
| Saugus | Does not qualify as a bulk item. Must go through an authorized recycler — the town publishes a vendor list. |
| Woburn | Curbside through UTEC at $40 per unit. Mattress plus box spring is two units. |
| Gloucester | UTEC pickup twice a month at $40 per item, registered and paid online. |
| Marblehead | No bulk route. Disposal happens at the Transfer Station, which needs a resident Facility Sticker — so you are the one driving it there. |
What it costs to have it hauled
We take mattresses from $85, and that price includes the labor, the carry and the recycling fee — there is nothing added at the end. We go to the bedroom, the attic or the basement, take it out ourselves, sweep up, and bring it to a facility that recycles it.
If you are clearing a whole room or a whole house, it usually prices as part of the load rather than piece by piece, which works out cheaper than paying per item. Our furniture and mattress removal page has the detail.
What actually happens to it after pickup
A mattress does not go to a landfill when it is recycled. At the facility it gets cut open and sorted into four streams, and each one has somewhere to go:
- Steel springs — the innerspring unit is baled and sold as scrap metal. It is the piece with real value.
- Foam — shredded and reprocessed, most often into carpet padding.
- Wood — the frame is chipped for mulch or biomass fuel.
- Fabric and fibre — the quilted top layers go to industrial filters and insulation.
That is why the state bothered with the ban: almost all of a mattress is worth something to somebody, and none of it is worth burying.
It is also why we send you a summary of where your load went — what was donated, what was recycled and what genuinely had to be thrown out. If a hauler cannot tell you where your mattress ended up, that is worth asking about before you book.
Questions we get every week
Can I just put it on the curb with a sticker?
No. Stickers cover bulk items like a couch or a table. Mattresses are under a state waste ban and need a mattress-specific program, wherever you live.
What happens if I put one in the trash anyway?
The hauler is not allowed to take it, so in practice it sits at your curb. Disposing of one outside an authorized channel is against state law.
Does the box spring count separately?
Yes, almost everywhere. Most town programs bill per piece, so a standard bed set is two charges.
Can you take a mattress the same day?
Usually. Text a photo to (978) 788-0354 and you get a price back; if the number works, we come out. Most mattress jobs on the North Shore are a same-day pickup.