Old Mattress Disposal – Some Important Facts to Bear in Mind

Changing our mattress is not something that we do very often, as on average a mattress is designed to last between 6 and 10 years, depending on the quality and how often it is used. 

The experts advise replacing it after this time. There is a frightening statistic why this is recommended. The average mattress doubles its weight in 10 years as a result of being filled with dead skin, body oil, dust mites and their waste products. This horrifying thought is enough to send us scurrying to the nearest mattress shop to replace our old mattresses immediately!

There are other signs that your mattress needs replacing, so if you are experiencing any of these warning signs, maybe it is time to get a new mattress. 

• Are you waking up with aches and pains in your back and body that you didn’t have when you went to sleep?
• Are your allergies getting worse? According to the Sleep Council, a 10 year old mattress becomes a breeding ground for a variety of bacteria. 
• Your mattress has developed lumps, bumps and is sagging. Over time the integrity of the materials used to construct a mattress deteriorate.
• You are not sleeping well anymore, or your sleeping pattern has changed.
• Your mattress is creaking.

Replacing Your Mattress – What to Do with Your Old One

Once you have decided to invest in a new mattress, the problem of what to do with your old one becomes an issue. A mattress is not something that you can just dump or leave out on the curb for garbage collection. Even dumping them in the landfill is not an environmentally friendly way to dispose of them. Mattresses do not compact well, and they take up a lot of space. They also release toxic gases when they eventually decompose which can potentially seep into the local water table causing pollution of ground water and local rivers.

Even if they are disposed of to a recycling center or a waste management center, they are notoriously difficult to process and can cause damage to equipment if they become stuck in the recycling machines. 

The good news is that there are legitimate ways of old mattress disposal without resorting to using your local landfill or risking a fine by leaving it out with your waste for collection by your local authorities. 

• Recycle your old mattress.

  These are the main components making up your mattress that can be recycled, springs, foam, and materials. The steel of the metal springs can be melted down and reused in the manufacture of anything from appliances to vehicles. The foam, fabric, and rubber components can be turned into the underlay for carpeting, stuffing for pillows and pet beds, and for upholstering furniture. The wood in the frame gets turned into chips and used as mulch.
  If you are hiring a junk removal service to for your mattress disposal, it is important to find out that they will in fact send it to be recycled. They may just take it to the local landfill unless you specifically ask that it be recycled. 

• Donate your old mattress to a charity.

  Charities such as Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army accept old mattresses and will schedule their trucks to pick your donated mattress up. Contact them first to check whether they are accepting mattresses. Obviously stained and torn mattresses are not suitable for donating. These charities will have the donated mattresses sanitized before reusing them.

Many of your local charities, shelters for the homeless and domestic violence centers will also accept your old mattress to give to a family that need it. A Google search should help you find a local charity near you. 

Americans dispose of up to 20 million mattresses each year, which could potentially add mountains to landfills. This is especially problematic at a time when many of our cities and states are running out of landfill space. This constitutes millions of cubic feet of foam, springs, and other materials.  Once these landfills become full, more space is needed, and this encroaches on the natural habitat around our cities and towns, leading to a polluted environment which is detrimental to humans and wild life. 

So when you decide to dispose of your mattress it is of the utmost importance to check that your mattress will be recycled in order to reduce your carbon footprint. If you can donate it to a charity this will also solve your problem of what to do with your old mattress. The most important consideration when deciding on the method of your old mattress disposal is that it does not end up in the landfill. 

Why Use Little Green Junk Company

We are a registered waste carrier in the York PA area, and we are knowledgeable of the local restrictions and rules regarding the removal and disposal of your unwanted mattresses or any other bulky waste items you may wish to dispose of. It is harmful to the environment if trash is dumped illegally, so please contact us when you have any large or small items you need to get rid of. 

At Little Green Junk Company York, PA we are proud of the great service we offer our customers, treating them with respect and courtesy. Please check our website for customer reviews when deciding which trash removal company to use. 

On request, we will provide an accurate quotation based on the information we receive. Once we have seen the job, and if there are any changes to be made to this quote, we will agree to these before we start the job. 

We will arrive promptly at the agreed time. Once we have completed the job, we clean up after ourselves, and leave that area of the property clean and tidy. 

Please call us today on 717 467 0070 for a free, no obligation quote. Our prices are competitive, and we service the areas of York, Harrisburg, and Lancaster.

Email: inquiries@littlegreenjunk.com

Website: https://littlegreenjunk.com/