The process of choosing a new mattress can be tedious and sometimes frustrating. Even the first nights on your new mattress can be a bit upsetting since it takes time to adjust to the materials that are still unfamiliar with your curves. But once the both of you get acquainted, owning a new mattress literally becomes the best thing ever.
But in the process of having a new bed, one forgets to plan a very important aspect: getting rid of the old mattress.
Mattress Returning
A lot of the major mattress manufacturers are putting a lot of emphasis on how their company is doing their best to be as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible. Because of that, a lot of these companies will now offer services of picking up your old bed when delivering the new one.
Premium brands offer this old mattress removal service for free, while others will charge an additional fee to pick up the old mattress. Every day, in the US alone, over 50.000 mattresses are being disposed of, so you can see how important it is to do so in a responsible manner.
When you’re shopping for a new mattress online, look out for information about old mattress removal. If not listed in the home or main product page, you should find the information somewhere in the “FAQ” section. Not all mattress brands provide such a service, but there are loads of them which can help you avoid the hassle of having to remove the bed yourself.
Mattress Donation
There is always the option of donating your old bed to charity. However, from an ethical point of view, the mattress should be in good condition for a donation. In fact, you may have noticed at some point during your new mattress research that if you return a product in the given free trial period, a lot of manufacturers will refund you for the entire price you paid if you donate the mattress to charity and show proof of donation.
If you’re not sure where to donate your old bed, consider talking to a non-profit organization in your area and see if they can guide you in the right direction. There is also the option of donating the mattress to organizations such as Goodwill or The Salvation Army, but this depends on the health department regulation of the area in which you live.
You can also try to donate your mattress to the local church (they will most likely know some families which are in need of donations), or homeless shelters.
Mattress Recycling
Recycling your mattress depends a lot on the facilities you have in this regard in the area where you live. There are companies which can recycle a mattress, or at least parts of it, such as the coils inside the bed or the memory foam.
In fact, there are mattress manufacturers out there who take pride in the fact that their beds are made from recycled material, so you could try contacting them for guidance as to how you can recycle your old bed. Parts of an old mattress aren’t necessarily recycled to make new beds: they can also be used to manufacture other products as well.
Go online to check if there are any recycling centers in the area where you live, although you may be required to take the mattress to such a facility yourself.
If you can’t find a suitable means to recycle your mattress, you can consider taking it apart yourself. You will need the proper tools and a bit of spare time to do that, but the process itself isn’t very complicated, as mattresses are creating with layers made of different materials. Just cut the cover of the mattress to reveal the contents, and then separate each of the fabrics into categories.
Mattress Selling
If your bed is still in good condition and you want to make a few bucks to get yourself a new one, you can always consider selling the thing. You can do so by organizing a garage sale, or you can take advantage of the many online social media platforms or selling networks.
You can post about it on Craigslist, or whatever website your country most frequently uses to buy and sell all kinds of products. Even writing about it on Facebook and getting some of your friends to share the information can lead to finding a potential buyer.
Mattress Repurposing
Who says you need to get rid of your old bed in the first place? There are so many DIY projects that could use an old bed, provided you have the time to see it through and are passionate about these things:
- You can turn the old mattress into a new bed for your dogs (if you have the necessary space to place it).
- You can also use it to create a fort for the little ones.
- If you take the mattress apart, you can use its components for other home projects. The memory foam or latex inside the mattress can be used as cushioning for your lawn chairs, for example.
- You can even use parts of your old mattress to repair some old stuffed toys.
Conclusion
Unless you buy a new bed from a manufacturer that provides an old mattress removal service, getting rid of your old bed can be a little bit of trouble. You’ll have to do your homework to discover if there are any local charities for donating your old bed, or if there are any recycling plant where you can take your old mattresses to.
Those who live in bigger cities are most likely to have some sort of removal service and have the benefit of the company picking up the old bed from home. The important thing to keep in mind is that if you don’t turn to some sort of service or take your mattress to a recycling plant, odds are that your old bed will end up in the landfill, which basically means you’re contributing to pollution.