- State rule: the mattress stewardship law, Rhode Island General Laws chapter 23-90 (2013), makes mattress producers fund a statewide recycling program through a fee charged at purchase
- Who runs it: the Mattress Recycling Council (Bye Bye Mattress), under a plan approved by the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC)
- Cost to you: a $22.50 recycling fee on each mattress and box spring sold since January 1, 2026; drop-off is free
- Where to take it: 39 drop-off locations, including the Central Landfill in Johnston for any resident; Bye Bye Mattress locator ↗
- Official program page: Bye Bye Mattress: Rhode Island ↗
Mattress disposal in Rhode Island is free at Bye Bye Mattress drop-off sites, which the $22.50 recycling fee on every new mattress and box spring pays for. Any resident can bring up to three a day to the Central Landfill in Johnston, and most cities and towns have their own drop-off. A mattress that is wet, frozen, soiled or infested with bedbugs is not recyclable and goes out as trash.
Photo: A mattress, pillows and bedding dumped on a sidewalk in Tottenham, London. Alan Stanton, 2009-09-24. CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source. Resized for web.
How the Rhode Island program works
Rhode Island’s mattress stewardship law, chapter 23-90 of the General Laws, was enacted in 2013 (Public Laws 2013, chapters 281 and 423). It requires every mattress producer to join a stewardship council that runs a statewide program under a plan approved by the director of the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, which runs the state’s Central Landfill in Johnston. The council reimburses RIRRC for the cost of administering the program. The Mattress Recycling Council is that council, and the program began operating on May 1, 2016. Since then it has collected about 875,000 mattresses and recycled more than 15,000 tons of material.
The fee. The store collects the recycling fee on each mattress and box spring when you buy it. It rose from $20.50 to $22.50 per unit for sales on or after January 1, 2026, under chapter 23-90. It is not a deposit, and you do not get it back when you drop off the old one.
What the program takes. Mattresses and box springs, or foundations, used and discarded in Rhode Island.
What it does not take. Crib mattresses, futons, air mattresses without upholstery and pillows, according to the program’s latest annual report. Units that are severely damaged or soiled are also excluded from free recycling.
Condition. RIRRC’s guidance is plain: a mattress that is severely damaged, twisted, wet, frozen, soiled or infested with bedbugs is trash, not recycling. RIRRC takes such items at its Johnston facility for a fee, Monday to Friday 6 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. and Saturday 6 a.m. to noon.
Where to take it in Rhode Island
The Mattress Recycling Council lists 39 drop-off locations in Rhode Island. In the year to June 30, 2025, the program had drop-off sites in 37 of the state’s 39 cities and towns. Look up your town’s site and its rules in the Bye Bye Mattress locator ↗. Two sites take mattresses from anywhere in the state:
- Central Landfill (RIRRC), Shun Pike, Johnston. Monday to Friday 6 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., Saturday 6 a.m. to noon. Free for residents, up to three units a day. Phone 401-942-1430.
- Tough Stuff Recycling, 345 Walcott St., Pawtucket. Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free for Rhode Island residents and businesses; more than 12 units need a scheduled delivery.
Some town sites set their own limits, such as Barrington’s recycling center, which takes three units at a time from its residents.
What the big cities add
- Providence: residents drop off mattresses and box springs free, with proof of residency, at the city’s Mattress Drop-off Center, 700 Allens Ave. (rear entrance on Terminal Road), Saturdays 7 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., weather permitting. Curbside pickup is available for a fee from Waste Management at 1-800-972-4545.
- Cranston: Waste Management picks up mattresses and box springs at the curb for $50 per item, by appointment at 1-800-972-4545.
- Warwick: residents take mattresses and box springs to the city’s Municipal Recycling & Compost Facility.
These rules come from RIRRC’s town guides. For each city’s official collection page, see the Rhode Island hub.
What this is not
The program is not curbside pickup: where a city picks up mattresses, it sets its own price, as Cranston and Providence do. RIRRC’s list of statewide mattress haulers, which includes private recyclers, carries its own warning that fees may apply and that RIRRC does not recommend one business over another.