- State rule: the Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Act (SB 254, 2013) makes mattress makers fund recycling, and a retailer that delivers a new mattress must offer to take the old one back at no extra cost
- Who runs it: the Mattress Recycling Council (Bye Bye Mattress), overseen by CalRecycle
- Cost to you: an $18 recycling fee on each mattress, box spring or futon sold on or after April 1, 2026; drop-off is free
- Where to take it: more than 240 permanent drop-off sites and about 100 collection events a year; Bye Bye Mattress locator ↗
- Official program page: Bye Bye Mattress: California ↗
Mattress disposal in California is free if you take the mattress to a Bye Bye Mattress site. You already paid for it: every mattress, box spring and futon sold in the state carries an $18 recycling fee. Drop-off sites and events take used mattresses and box springs no matter when they were bought. When a store delivers a new mattress, it must offer to haul the old one away at no extra charge.
Photo: The California State Capitol in Sacramento, where the mattress recycling law was passed in 2013. Tony Webster, 2016-03-23. CC BY 2.0 · Source. Resized for web.
How the California program works
The Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Act, passed as SB 254 in 2013, sits in Public Resources Code sections 42985 to 42994. It tells mattress manufacturers, renovators and retailers to run one statewide recycling program. They formed the Mattress Recycling Council, a nonprofit, and CalRecycle oversees the program. AB 187 (2019) later added goals for convenience and for retailer access to the program.
The fee. The store collects the recycling fee when you buy, and it must show as its own line on the receipt. It went from $16 to $18 per unit for sales on or after April 1, 2026. It is the same for every mattress, futon and foundation, whatever the size or type, and it is not subject to sales tax. The fee funds the program. It is not a deposit, so nothing comes back to you when you drop off the old one.
What the program takes. Mattresses and box springs used and thrown out in California, no matter when they were bought. All-foam and spring mattresses both count. A futon mattress that comes apart from its frame counts as a mattress.
What it does not take. Crib mattresses, bassinets and other juvenile products; air mattresses and water beds without upholstery; sofa beds and roll-away beds; car beds; futon frames and bed frames; mattress pads, toppers, pillows, sleeping bags and loose bedding; couch cushions; stripped mattresses; and mattresses from out of state.
Condition. A mattress that is severely damaged, heavily soiled, moldy, very wet, frozen or infested with bedbugs may be refused or charged. Call the site before you go. San Diego’s site sends those to the trash.
Retailer take-back. Under Public Resources Code section 42992, a store that delivers a new mattress must offer to take back your used one at no additional cost. It has up to 30 days to pick it up. Delivery or setup fees can still apply, and the store can refuse a mattress that poses a health or safety risk.
Where to take it in California
The Mattress Recycling Council counts more than 240 permanent drop-off locations in California and about 100 collection events a year. Enter your ZIP code in the Bye Bye Mattress locator ↗ to see the sites near you, their hours and any limits.
Drop-off sites already in the Trashbagging catalog:
- Mattress Collection Site, at the Miramar Landfill entrance, 5161 Convoy St., San Diego. Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mattresses and box springs are free, with no limit.
- SF Transfer Station, 501 Tunnel Avenue, San Francisco. Open to city residents and businesses; up to four clean, dry mattresses a day are free, memory foam excluded.
See all California drop-off sites.
What the big cities add
- Los Angeles: LA Sanitation picks up mattresses and box springs free as bulky items on your trash day. Book at least one business day ahead through MyLA311 or at 1-800-773-2489.
- San Diego: the City has no curbside bulky pickup. Take mattresses and box springs to the free Mattress Collection Site at Miramar on a weekday.
- San Francisco: Recology’s Bulky Item Collection takes mattresses free with an active account, twice a year for buildings of up to five units. The Transfer Station takes four clean, dry mattresses a day free.
- San Jose: Junk Pickup is free and unlimited, up to 12 items a request. Book through San José 311 and lay the mattress flat at the curb; mattresses with bedbugs, mold or feces are refused.
- Glendora: Athens Services picks up mattresses free as bulky items for single-family homes, by appointment only.
What this is not
Bye Bye Mattress is a drop-off program, not a pickup service. Curbside pickup comes from your city or its hauler, on their terms. The $18 fee is also not the California Redemption Value on bottles and cans: you cannot redeem it. Businesses with at least 100 mattresses a month use the Mattress Recycling Council’s separate Commercial Volume Program instead of the drop-off sites.