What Exactly Is Mattress Donation? Here's Everything You Need To Know

Don’t know what to do with your old mattress? The answer is simpler than you might think. There are many reasons you could be contemplating mattress donation.

If you have an old mattress that’s in good shape, or you’ve just bought a new mattress that’s in good condition, but just isn’t for you, you might want to consider finding a charity to donate to.

Some mattress companies (like Puffy) facilitate the donation of returned mattresses. As long as your old mattress is in good condition, you’ll find a majority of local charities are willing to pick it up for you. But there are times you might prefer to do a donation pick yourself. It’s important to know how to distinguish between knowing when to donate a mattress, and when you need to recycle it instead.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to mattress donations, from what they entail, where you can donate your mattress for free, and how to dispose of your mattress responsibly when it isn’t in good shape to be donated.

How Do You Know When It’s Time To Donate Your Mattress?

How do you know if mattress donation is a viable option for you? For starters, your mattress needs to be in good condition. This means no bed bugs, obvious stains, or, in the case of a spring mattress, broken springs.

You might want to donate your mattress for a number of reasons:

• You’ve had your mattress for over ten years, and you feel like it’s the right time for a change.
• You’ve changed sleeping styles, and your bed is no longer supporting you.
• You might be dealing with chronic pain or a sudden injury.
• You’ve gone from sleeping alone to sleeping with a partner, and require a more appropriate mattress size.

What Are The Best Charities For Mattress Donation?

There are several local charities that will allow you to donate your mattress. One of the few charities that will not accept mattress donations is The Salvation Army - while they do accept bed frames, they’re unable to take any beds or recycle old mattresses. You can still donate other old belongings to their furniture bank, however, so be sure to review the full details of what you can and cannot donate on their website.

Other big charities still accept mattresses. Most will stipulate that the mattresses need to be in good condition. That means to look out for any rips or stains on foam mattresses, or broken springs in the case of hybrid or spring mattresses.

Habitat for Humanity is a great option if you’re considering mattress donation. While the charity has built its reputation off of building housing for those who require it, few people know these homes often come fully furnished by them too.

These charities are all great options for donating your mattress and knowing it’s going to go to an important cause. Most of them will also arrange free pick-up, meaning arranging to donate your mattress is hassle-free. An alternate option is for you to find and donate to smaller, more local charities.

Donation Town is an online directory of local and national charities registered near you and helps you schedule a free donation pick-up that makes giving your mattress away super simple. Similar to Donation Town, there’s the National Furniture Bank Association, which also operates an online database of those in need of home furnishings.

These directories cover most of North America, making it easy to browse for a local charity that suits you. They are also handy for discovering causes and charities you might not have known about otherwise since it is the most up to date database out there for a cause like this. You might just discover new and important ways to actively contribute to your local community, so be sure to give this a try if you’re curious.

Other Ways To Participate In Mattress Donation

You can take mattress donation into your own hands by posting that you’re giving away your mattress for free on online marketplaces such as Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. You can then arrange to have someone pick up your mattress for you, or you can also choose to drop it off instead. 

Freecycle is another online marketplace similar to Craigslist. It is an online directory that lists items within communities that are being given away for free. All you need to do is enter your location to see what others are giving away, and to list your own mattress too.

You communicate directly with members of the website. Don’t worry about safety - the only details that require any exchange are where you’ll be coordinating your pick up.

Arranging for a mattress donation on your own is another option when you’re considering giving away your mattress for free. Advertising via an online marketplace is a straightforward process, and since you know exactly who you’re giving your mattress away to, you’ll be able to tell that you’re donating to a good cause.

Why Should You Recycle Old Mattresses?

If mattress donation is not an option for you, then you might want to consider recycling one instead. Old mattresses that are discarded cause active harm to the environment. In America, more than 50,000 mattresses get discarded in a day, and the majority of these end up in landfills.

Mattress donation or disposal can be done responsibly, in a way that does not harm the environment. In fact, more than 75% of mattresses can be recycled. That’s millions of pounds worth of useful material, that often end up in various waste streams. Mattress donation to recycling centres work by having these places cut open your mattress, separate its layers, and then organize them by different material types.

Unlike mattress donations, which go on to someone who then uses your old mattress, mattress recycling can be used to convert your old bed into useful scrap material for other production processes. The metal and box springs in your hybrid or spring mattresses are extracted, sent to scrap recyclers, and then used in steel mills. Memory foam and other soft materials are compressed, to be reused in the production of carpets, oil filters, and other textile applications.

How Do I Recycle My Mattress?

Earth 911 is an online database you can use to help locate your local recycling center, and in some cases, can even arrange a pick-up for the same. They make mattress recycling pretty simple, are great if you’re starting out but just aren’t sure where to begin.

Bye Bye Mattress is a service that’s available to residents of California, Connecticut, or Rhode Island if you are looking to find the facility closest to you. They also educate communities on the job creation, waste reduction, and positive repercussions recycling can have on local and national levels.

If you’re struggling to find a recycling center, check to see if your local Municipal Office accepts mattress donations, and can pick up your unwanted belongings and dispose of them as eco-friendly as possible. It’s worth noting that most Municipal Offices charge a small fee in order to pick up your mattress, whereas the other services listed here often arrange for donation pick-ups free of charge. Review your options to find what works for you.

The Puffy Mattress Donation Program

Puffy’s return program is designed to assure our customers and minimize waste. If you find you’re not getting a comfortable night’s sleep, you can return your mattress, no questions asked, and donate them to a local charity.

Our Donation program works with the following charities so that we can give back to our own local communities :

At Puffy, the mission that drives us is simple - we want everyone to sleep as well as possible. With over 2.5 million children experiencing homelessness in the US alone, our partners deal specifically with donating housing solutions to the impoverished communities that need them.

Apart from donating our returns, Puffy also donates a mattress for every ten posts shared about us on social media. Eager to make a difference, but not ready to part with your Puffy? Post about us instead, and rest assured that your impact will be felt.

It is important to contribute and do your part in ensuring mattress disposal takes place in a safe and responsible way. Whether you’re contemplating mattress donation, or you think you’ll go the recycling route, the good news is there are plenty of options when it comes to making a difference as simply as possible.

Be sure to do your research before you decide where and how you’d like to give your mattress away. The best mattress companies are aware of the significant environmental impact of unused or wasted products and should account for this in their return policy. Want to learn more about how Puffy uses their old mattresses? Read more on our return policy, as well as what we do at the Puffy Donation Program.