Where to Recycle a Mattress in Sacramento (2026 Guide)
The old mattress has been standing on its end in the hallway for a week, and nobody in the house wants to be the one to deal with it. It won’t fit in the garbage cart, and you’ve heard you can’t just leave it on the curb. In California, mattresses have their own statewide recycling program, so Sacramento has more real options than most people expect. We’ve hauled a lot of mattresses out of Sacramento homes, and the most common question we hear is where to actually take one. This guide walks through where to take a mattress in Sacramento, what the drop-off sites accept, what the city will collect, and when it’s simpler to have someone pick it up for you.
At a glance
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Drop-Off Site or Pickup: Which Do You Need?
There are two ways to get a mattress recycled in Sacramento: take it to a site in the state program yourself, or have someone collect it from you.
Drop-off is the right call if you have a truck or van, a second person to help lift, and time during the site’s open hours.
Pickup is the right call if you don’t. To be clear about what we do: Affordable Junk Removal is a pickup service, not a drop-off location or a recycling center. You can’t bring a mattress to us — we come to you, carry it out from wherever it sits, load it, and haul it away. Recycling is part of the pickup price, not an add-on.
How Mattress Recycling Works in California
State law created a mattress recycling program run by the Mattress Recycling Council, a nonprofit, under the consumer-facing name Bye Bye Mattress.
You’ve already paid for it: a recycling fee is added every time a new mattress or box spring is sold in California — it went to $18.00 on April 1, 2026, per the Mattress Recycling Council — and that fee funds the collection network. That’s why drop-off sites take mattresses at no additional cost.
California’s Bye Bye Mattress program has more than 240 permanent drop-off locations plus around 100 collection events a year, and 99 percent of California residents live within 15 miles of a site or event. Since 2016, the program has collected 14.2 million mattresses.
Once a mattress is collected, its components are separated and recycled into new products instead of taking up space in a landfill.
Where to Take a Mattress in Sacramento
Sacramento County has four public drop-off sites in the Bye Bye Mattress program, from the official Bye Bye Mattress locator (checked November 6, 2026):
| Site | Address | Limit per trip | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento Recycling & Transfer Station | 8491 Fruitridge Rd., Sacramento | Up to 5 per vehicle | California residents and businesses |
| Florin Perkins Public Disposal Site | 4201 Florin Perkins Rd., Sacramento | Up to 4 | Residents |
| North Area Recovery Station (NARS) | 4450 Roseville Rd., North Highlands | Up to 20 | Residents and businesses |
| Kiefer Landfill | 12701 Kiefer Blvd., Sloughhouse | Up to 20 | Residents and businesses |
We haven’t listed opening hours because they change. Check hours and limits on the locator or call the site before you go.
If you live just outside the county: Placer County residents can use the WPWMA facility at 3195 Athens Ave. in Lincoln (up to 4 per household), and Yolo County residents can use the Yolo County Central Landfill in Woodland.
A practical note from our side of the truck: a queen mattress needs a pickup or a van, two people, and tie-downs. In our experience, the trips that go wrong are the ones where someone tries to wedge a mattress into a hatchback or strap it down with a single bungee cord.
Buying a New Mattress? Ask the Store to Take the Old One
If your mattress is being replaced, there’s an option with no driving at all. California law requires the retailer to offer to take back your old mattress when it delivers a new one, at no additional cost for the take-back itself. A few terms apply, per Bye Bye Mattress: delivery or setup fees for the new mattress may still apply, the retailer has up to 30 days to take back the old mattress, and the store can refuse a mattress that poses a health or safety risk.
Our tip: ask when you place the order, not when the delivery truck is already in your driveway. And note the catch — this only works when a new mattress is being delivered.
Can You Leave a Mattress on the Curb in Sacramento?
In Sacramento, a mattress doesn’t go in the garbage cart, and it can’t sit on the curb without an appointment. A mattress dumped at the curb, in an alley, or next to a shared trash bin counts as illegal dumping, which the city asks residents to report to 311 or (916) 264-5011.
With an appointment, it’s a different story. City of Sacramento residential customers get two Household Junk Pickup appointments per year, booked through Sacramento 311, and mattresses are on the city’s accepted list. Two timing rules matter. First, items go out no earlier than 24 hours before the appointment — an early set-out can draw a fine even with a booking. Second, the program runs February through October: appointments pause from mid-October, and leaf collection takes priority in November, December, and January. In that window, a paid pickup through City Utility Billing may be available, with a minimum fee of about $39.
The city’s size limit and set-out rules are covered in our bed frame guide, so we won’t repeat them here.
Outside city limits? Check with your own garbage service about bulky item pickup — availability and fees vary by hauler.
What the Drop-Off Sites Won’t Take
The program is for mattresses and box springs (also called foundations), and that’s drawn more narrowly than you might expect. Per the official list of accepted and unaccepted items, California’s mattress recycling drop-off sites won’t take: bed frames, futon frames and bases, sofa beds (covered in our guide to getting rid of a couch in Sacramento), mattress toppers and pads, pillows and loose bedding, crib and bassinet mattresses, air mattresses and water beds with no upholstery, or mattresses from outside California.
What is accepted: mattresses and box springs in any condition, and futon mattresses once they’re separated from the frame.
A site may still take some of the unaccepted items outside the program — several are full waste facilities — so call ahead rather than assuming. For the frame itself, our guide to bed frame disposal covers every option by material.
Your Options Side by Side
| Option | What you do | Best if | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drop-off site | Load it, drive it, unload it | You have a truck and a helper | Limits per trip; check hours |
| Store take-back | Ask when you order | You’re buying a new mattress | Only with a delivery; up to 30 days |
| City junk pickup | Book through 311, set it out on the street | You’re a city customer with an appointment left | Paused mid-October through January |
| Pickup crew (us) | Point to it | No truck, stairs, or no time | From $85; recycling included in the pickup price |
No Truck? We Come to You and Haul It Away
One more time, plainly: we’re a pickup crew, not a drop-off site or a recycling center. Our team comes to your home, carries the mattress out from wherever it is — bedroom, hallway, garage — loads it on the truck, and hauls it away. Recycling is included in the pickup price.
For pricing: pickup with Affordable Junk Removal starts at $85 for one mattress or bed frame, and two mattresses — or a mattress plus its frame — are $100, with no extra charge for stairs or mattress size. You get an upfront quote before any work starts, and same-day pickup is often available when you book early. The full picture of what junk removal costs in Sacramento is on our cost guide, and our mattress removal page has the details for booking. Clearing more than a bedroom? See the full list of items we accept.
Call (916) 730-8387 or book online to schedule your pickup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I get rid of an old mattress near me in Sacramento?
You have four options: drive it to one of the county’s four public Bye Bye Mattress drop-off sites (listed above), have the store take it back when a new mattress is delivered, book a City of Sacramento junk pickup appointment through 311 (February through October), or have a pickup crew like ours collect it from inside your home.
Where can I dispose of a box spring near me?
Everywhere a mattress goes, a box spring goes too. The California recycling program treats box springs (foundations) the same as mattresses — the same recycling fee was paid at purchase, and the same four public drop-off sites in Sacramento accept them, within the same per-trip limits. If a new set is being delivered, ask the store to take the old box spring along with the mattress.
Can I put a mattress in my garbage cart?
No. A mattress won’t be collected from the cart, and leaving one beside a cart or a shared trash bin, or on the curb without an appointment counts as illegal dumping in Sacramento. Use a drop-off site, a scheduled pickup, or a take-back instead.
Do Sacramento drop-off sites take mattress toppers or pillows?
Not through the recycling program — toppers, pads, pillows, and loose bedding are all on the unaccepted list. Some sites take them as regular waste outside the program, so call the site ahead.