By Southside Junk Removal
Why mattresses are a special problem
A mattress is roughly 65% steel coils, 20% foam, 10% fiber padding, and 5% textiles. That mix is why mattresses get their own disposal stream. Most Atlanta-area landfills will accept them but at a per-unit surcharge ($25-60 each at most facilities). Many municipal curbside services do not pick them up at all, or pick them up only on bulky-item days a couple times per year. And bed bugs are a real concern: most haulers will not touch a mattress without confirming it has not been used in a known infestation situation.
Atlanta municipal curbside rules
- City of Atlanta sanitation: mattresses go out on bulk-trash days only, and there are limits on how many per household per pickup.
- DeKalb County: bulky-item pickup requires a phone call and a scheduled date.
- Clayton County: similar, call in advance.
- Fulton County (unincorporated): varies by service area.
The pattern across south Atlanta is the same: you cannot just put a mattress out with the trash on a regular pickup day and expect it to disappear.
Mattress recycling options in Atlanta
Bye Bye Mattress operates a recycling program in Georgia. Spring Back Recycling has a metro Atlanta drop-off location that accepts mattresses for $25-50 per unit and disassembles them for material recovery. About 80% of a mattress is recyclable when disassembled properly: the steel coils go to scrap, the foam gets repurposed, the cotton padding can be reused. For a single mattress drop-off, that is the most environmentally responsible route if you can transport it yourself.
When professional pickup makes sense
Pickup makes sense when you do not have a truck or trailer, the mattress is upstairs and heavy to move, you are replacing the mattress and want the delivery and haul-away in one window, you have multiple mattresses (estate, apartment turnover, hotel renovation), or you simply do not want to deal with a 90-pound queen on top of your car. We charge our standard tier pricing: most single-mattress jobs hit the $175 minimum, and two mattresses or a mattress + box spring + bedframe sometimes pushes into the quarter-load $370 tier. See our mattress removal service for details.
Bed bugs and damage disclosure
If your mattress has been in a known bed bug situation, tell us. We have protocols for sealing and disposal that protect our trucks and our other customers. Some haulers refuse those jobs entirely; we take them with the proper handling. Honesty up front saves everyone time.
What about box springs and bed frames?
Box springs go through the same recycling stream as mattresses (wood frame + textile + sometimes steel). Bed frames depend on material: metal frames go to scrap, wood frames go to landfill or are sometimes recycled, fabric upholstered frames are landfill. We bundle these with the mattress on a single pickup.