Is it Time for a New Mattress? How to Dispose of Your Old One Responsibly

Every mattress has an expiry date, so if your mattress is no longer doing its job of enabling a good night’s sleep, it is time to invest in a new one. Mattresses, especially if they are large king or queen sized, are heavy and bulky so they are not easy to haul away yourself to the nearest dump. In fact this method of disposing of a mattress may even be illegal where you live. When you consider that more than 50,000 end up in landfills each day in the USA, it is even more important to make sure that your mattress does not meet the same fate.

There are a few options for you to take into consideration when deciding the best way of disposing of your old mattress.

• Does the retailer who is supplying you with your new mattress offer a service where they will remove your old one for recycling when they deliver your new mattress? That is an easy solution but considering that many of us purchase our new mattresses online, this is not always possible.
• If your mattress is in good condition and maybe lightly used as it has been in a spare bedroom, it may be possible to sell it on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. 
• Otherwise consider donating it to a charity such as The Salvation Army who have locations which accept mattresses in good condition (as well as any other belongings you wish to get rid of). You can be sure that your donation will be put to good use.
• If your mattress is showing a bit of wear and tear and cannot be sold or donated, you could recycle it. This is the eco-friendly way of disposing of your mattress and is a much better option than letting it land up in the landfill where it will add to the environmental woes.

What Happens to Your Old Mattress when it is Recycled

While old mattresses cannot be recycled by just dropping them off at your recycling centre where you take your plastic, aluminum cans, bottles, and waste paper for recycling, the materials used in the manufacture of your mattress can be reused. This requires that the mattress be broken up into its original components. There are specialized facilities for carrying this out.

Once the mattress has been cut open, the various layers are separated. The foam, fiber and materials used for the stuffing are used for mulching plants amongst other things. The metal springs are recycled to steel mills where they are used to manufacture various steel objects such as rail tracks. Any wood used in the manufacture of the mattress, or the base is used as a fuel source.

About 75% of the old mattress can be recycled into new products. But in spite of this, millions of old mattresses are discarded every year and land up in landfills.

One of the reasons for this is that an old mattress is difficult to physically move. You need the right sized trailer or truck and then once it is loaded, you need to find a place where it can be taken to for recycling. But a waste removal company such as Little Green Junk can easily help if you find yourself with an old mattress to get rid of. We will make sure that it gets to a recycling center where it can be disposed of in an environmentally sustainable manner.

So don’t dump it, recycle it instead!

Illegal Dumping is a No No

Dumping your old mattress in a field, an alley or even abandoning it in a dumpster can never be condoned. This applies to any waste or trash. It is actually illegal to do this, and you may be liable to a large fine.

Illegal dumping has a harmful effect on our environment in that it can cause a health hazard by polluting water sources and encouraging pests like rodents, flies, and other insects. It costs the authorities and ultimately you as a tax payer millions of dollars each year in clean-up programs.

How to Prevent Illegal Dumping

• By choosing a professional junk removal company such as Little Green Junk to remove your unwanted stuff is the first step. Make sure that the company you work with always dispose of junk legally. Avoid using fly by night junk haulers who quote a price that seems to good to be true. They may be dumping your stuff illegally.
• Report any illegal dumping you witness to the authorities and include photographic evidence of the vehicle if possible to make prosecution easier.
• Support any community clean ups and recycling efforts. 

By helping keep your community and surrounds clean you will not only promote the health of your fellow citizens by keeping pests under control, but you will also help maintain the value of your property as everyone wants to live in a clean neighborhood and this is reflected in their property prices.

Why Use Little Green Junk Company for Junk Removal?

When you choose Little Green Junk to remove your used mattress, you can be assured that we will not dump it indiscriminately. In addition, we also remove any other types of your household trash, including any of your recyclables. 

Our pledge is to recycle any items that we can, and we only use the landfill as the last resort. We follow the restrictions that are in place as to what can be disposed of in the local landfill.

At Little Green Junk Company York, PA we treat our customers with the respect they deserve, and we are willing to go the extra mile to ensure that they are happy with our service.  

We will arrive promptly at the scheduled time and if we are running late, we will communicate with you. Once we have completed the job, we will leave that area clean and tidy. 

We realise that sometimes you need to get rid of your trash in a hurry, so we offer a same day junk removal service, and we can even accommodate your junk removal after hours or over a weekend if that is what you require.

Please call us today on 717 467 0070 when you need a quote for the removal of your old mattress or any other household junk.. 

Email: inquiries@littlegreenjunk.com

Website: https://www.littlegreenjunk.com/