Today is Earth Day! It's a time to celebrate this unique planet we inhabit and remember that, as far as we know, it truly is unique and should probably be taken care of.
In the spirit of the holiday we’ve compiled a smorgasbord of information on how to recycle furniture and mattresses.
Mattresses
It’s estimated that one year’s worth of discarded mattresses will occupy more than 132,000 square miles of landfill. That’s a lot of space that we could use for something else. Throwing away your old mattress wastes a lot of space and harms the environment more than necessary.
Now you might be tempted to reuse your mattress in a guest bedroom or as an upgrade for the kids. That might not be the best decision. Mattresses that have aged past the point of good quality can cause serious problems for those that sleep on them, especially on kids, teenagers, and seniors.
Since 80-90% of a mattress can be recycled, one of the best ways to dispose of your mattress is to take it to a designated recycling center. Most of the time you can put your zip code into a search engine with the words “mattress recycling” and you’ll find the nearest and most accessible recycling options.
Just be aware. Some recycling centers will come with a fee, especially if you choose a pickup service.
You also won’t be able to recycle mattress that have bed bug infestations. Those ones should just go to the landfill.
If you’re looking for more detailed information on how you might dispose of your old mattress you should check out this website: https://www.tuck.com/mattress-disposal/.
Furniture
For bulk items that aren't a large, used, and sometimes gross mattress, the general consensus is to donate to your local thrift shop, goodwill, or other charity. You get rid of your junk, and someone else gets a chance to use it if they need it.
If furniture isn’t in good enough condition to donate then reach out to your local waste management department to see if they can pick up the bulk items on garbage day. Or feel free to haul it to the dump yourself.
There are also junk removal services that can help you get rid all your junk you don’t want to deal with. These junk removal services tend to be a little more expensive since they’re doing all the heavy lifting for you.
