Mattress Recycling

Discarded mattresses can be difficult to manage. They are expensive to transport, hard to compact, take up lots of landfill space, and can damage incinerator processing equipment. Yet mattresses are made up mostly of recyclable materials. Once disassembled, more than 75 percent of their components can be reused. This is better for the environment, the economy, and municipal waste management budgets.

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News & Updates

More Than 600,000   Mattresses & box springs discarded annually in Massachusetts.

November 1, 2022

MassDEP is expanding its waste disposal bans by:

  • Adding mattresses and textiles to the list of materials banned from disposal or transport for disposal in Massachusetts, and
  • Lowering the threshold on commercial organic/food waste to facilities generating more than one-half ton of these materials per week.

For details and definitions, see the regulations.

See Additional Resources below to learn more.

Additional Resources   for News & Updates

Most of What You Sleep on Can be Recycled

Roughly three-quarters of all mattress and box spring components can be easily disassembled and recycled. The recovered materials are then used to manufacture a variety of new products.

Image: Cutaway of Mattress

Infographic Courtesy of the Mattress Recycling Council

Consumer Mattress Recycling

Donate mattresses that are in good condition. Use the MassDEP Beyond the Bin Recycling Directory to find charities and organizations near you that accept them for reuse or recycling.

Take advantage of retailer haul-away. Most furniture and mattress sellers accept old mattresses for recycling and disposal when they deliver newly purchased mattresses to your home.

Find out if your city or town has a collection program. The map below shows Massachusetts communities that have notified MassDEP they provide for mattress recycling. Many of these municipalities have received grants from the agency in support of these efforts. Additional towns and cities may also have programs. Contact your local health, public works, or recycling department to learn more.

Map of MRI Communities

See a larger map showing town and city names.

Business & Institutional Mattress Recycling

Find a commercial mattress recyclerRecyclingWorks in Massachusetts is a free assistance program designed to help businesses and institutions maximize recycling, reuse, and composting opportunities. Its web site includes a Recycling Provider Search for locating companies that process a wide range of materials, including mattresses.

Help build the state's mattress recycling infrastructure. MassDEP offers Recycling & Reuse Business Development Grants that subsidize private sector efforts to expand collection of materials banned from disposal or transport for disposal in the state, including mattresses.

Municipal Mattress Collection & Recycling

Apply for MassDEP grant funding. The Recycling Dividends Program (RDP) will provide payments to your municipality for implementing specific waste reduction, reuse, and recycling policies and programs. Your town or city may in turn use RDP funds toward specific solid waste management and recycling expenses, including collection, transportation, and processing of mattresses and other materials that are difficult to manage. See RDP & Small-Scale Initiative Approved Spending Categories and Additional Resources below to learn more.

Use a recycler on state contract. Municipalities and certain public entities may use the FAC90 Statewide Carpet & Mattress Recycling Services Contract to select vendors that either accept mattresses on a per-unit basis or provide collection container rental and hauling. Mattress recyclers currently on state contract include:

Ace Mattress Enterprises LLC
1950 South County Trail 
East Greenwich, RI 02818
Contact: Adriane Catlin401-640-2725
GGY Transport, LLC - Tough Stuff Recycling
145 Authority Drive
Fitchburg, MA 01420
Contact: Rodney Clara800-273-4137
HandUp US LLC
127 West Rodney French Boulevard
New Bedford, MA 02744
Contact: Erik Dyson774-271-8744
Raw Material Recovery Corp.
461 West Broadway
Gardner, MA 01440
Contact: Debra Peloquin978-730-8266
UTEC Inc. / United Teen Equality Center
35 Warren Street
Lowell, MA 01825
Contact: Ricardo Febles978-856-3902

Additional Resources   for Municipal Mattress Collection & Recycling

Waste Ban Compliance Assistance for Municipalities

Effective November 1, 2022: Mattresses are banned from disposal or transport for disposal in Massachusetts.

See the MassDEP Mattress & Textile Waste Ban Communications Toolkit for images, materials, strategies, and tips for getting the word out about this change to the residents of your community.

Learn about your city or town's responsibilities for complying with the new provisions in Additional Resources below.

You may also review case studies of municipal and regional efforts to make mattress recycling easier for Bay Staters.

Additional Resources   for Waste Ban Compliance Assistance for Municipalities

Municipal & Regional Mattress Recycling Case Studies

Learn how Massachusetts municipalities are making it easier for their own residents, and sometimes households from neighboring communities, to recycle mattresses.

Additional Resources   for Municipal & Regional Mattress Recycling Case Studies

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