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Dispose of a Mattress

How to Dispose of a Mattress for FREE in the UK

You should change your mattresses every seven to eight years. This is because the mattress will have been subjected to more than 20,000 hours of wear and tear. A standard mattress, if properly looked after, will last between 8 to 10 years.

In 2017, households, service providers and businesses disposed of more than 7 million mattresses. The vast majority of them went straight to landfill.

English councils spend more than £58 million to clear illegally dumped items with mattresses at the top of the list every year. Since dumping mattresses in the landfill is terrible for the environment, it’s critical to dispose of a mattress in the UK properly.

Here are a few ways of how to dispose of your old mattress for free in the UK.

Donate to Charity…

In the UK, bed poverty impacts thousands. According to Buttle UK, thousands of children are sharing beds with siblings or sleeping on floors. By donating your mattress to charity, you can ensure a child is not sleeping on the floor.

The British Heart Foundation is a charity that can arrange the collection of your unwanted mattress and furniture. They offer a contact-free and efficient collection service – no signature needed. By donating your old mattresses and other unwanted household items, you give them a new lease of life.

To donate your old mattresses, visit the British Heart Foundation site and request a free collection. The charity will contact you to book in the collection. Their team will arrive and carry out the collection.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the charity cannot collect from households where a member(s) is suffering from COVID-19. If this does not apply to you, request free collection.

Donate to Family and Friends…

If your mattress is in good condition, one of the easiest disposal methods is donating to family and friends. All you need to do is ring up your family and friends and find out if they’re interested.

By donating to family and friends, you get to help a loved one. It could be a student heading off to live in his first flat or a friend looking for a good condition mattress to use for a DIY project. Also, donating your unwanted mattress to family and friends ensures that your mattress does not end up in the landfill. Every year, an estimated 167,000 tonnes of mattresses end up in the landfill. This is the same weight as 30,365 elephants.

Call Your Local Recycling Centre…

According to a 2019 report, recycling centres recycled over 1.363 million mattresses. That’s a recycling rate of more than 19%. But, unfortunately, far too many unwanted mattresses end up in landfill sites. This isn’t good for the environment, given that they take 80 to 120 years to decompose in a landfill. So to protect the environment, call your local recycling centre.

If it’s your first time recycling an old mattress, visit your local council’s GOV.UK website. They will have a list of recycling centres in your area. They will also list items they accept or do not accept.

At the local recycling centre, they will break down your unwanted mattress into individual components. They can use these components to make new products. For example, the recycling centre can recycle the springs and make new metal products.

Remember, you cannot take your old mattress to the recycling centre on foot. You will need a car big enough to transport it. If you don’t have a vehicle big enough to haul the mattress, contact your local council to collect it for recycling.

Use a Mattress Disposal Service…

Like the recycling centre, a mattress disposal service is an efficient way of getting rid of your unwanted mattress. The disposal service will collect the mattress from your home.

The disposal service will then take your old mattress to a local recycling centre for recycling. To qualify for this service, all you have to do is buy a new mattress. Most retailers in the UK offer this service. Examples include:

  • IKEA
  • Dreams
  • John Lewis
  • Argos and more

Before buying a new mattress, inquire from your favourite retailer if they offer a mattress disposal service.

Final Thoughts

There you have it! four different ways to dispose of a mattress for free in the UK. Now, you no longer have to dispose of your old mattresses like regular trash where it ends up in the landfill. Instead, call your family and friends, your local recycling centre or your mattress disposal service. They will be happy to take it off your hands and repurpose it to benefit the environment.

Further Reading…

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