Mattress recycling is a simple step for a cleaner, greener California
CALIFORNIA – This Earth Day, the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) celebrated 10 years of the Bye Bye Mattress program alongside bedding industry leaders and City of San Diego officials at one of its largest and most active collection sites in the state – the Miramar Landfill. Since joining MRC’s Bye Bye Mattress program in 2023, San Diego has reduced its illegal dumping by 41% and recycled more than 51,000 mattresses.
“We are thrilled about the public’s enthusiastic participation in mattress recycling,” said Julie Sands, Recycling Program Manager for the City of San Diego Environmental Services Department. “San Diegans are keeping our communities cleaner by helping us reduce waste and keep these bulky items out of the landfill, or worse yet, on the side of the road.”
Over the past decade, MRC, which is a nonprofit organization created by the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA), has recycled more than 14 million mattresses in California. That’s over 555 million pounds of steel, foam, fiber and wood kept out of landfills and put to good use.
“MRC’s Bye Bye Mattress program has proven year after year that it can serve California well. No matter where a consumer looks to get rid of their mattress, we are facilitating a way to get it to a recycler,” said Alison Keane, president of ISPA and MRC. “The bedding industry is committed to seeing that mattress recycling continues to flourish.”
When a mattress is recycled, up to 75% of its materials become new products. Foam and fibers are incorporated into carpet padding; the innersprings are used in numerous products made from scrap steel; and the wood from box springs is chipped for use as mulch or biomass fuel.
As MRC enters its second decade, Californians continue to have several easy ways to recycle through MRC’s Bye Bye Mattress program. Over 99% of Californians live within 15 miles of a collection site like Miramar Landfill or a community collection event, and many cities offer free curbside pickup and collection events for bulky items, including mattresses. To find the closest drop-off location or a complete list of participating communities for curbside collection, visit ByeByeMattress.com.
City of San Diego residents can drop off mattresses and box springs for free at the City’s Mattress Collection Site, located just outside the entrance to the Miramar Landfill, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. More information is available at sandiego.gov/mattress.
Elsewhere in San Diego County, six other drop-off locations are available: Ramona Disposal, the Otay Landfill in Chula Vista, El Cajon Transfer Station, the Sycamore Landfill in Santee, Palomar Transfer Station in Carlsbad and the Revitalization Jacumba-Boulevard Backcountry Resource Center. Furthermore, Republic Services and Ramona Disposal recycle the mattresses collected through curbside bulky waste collection in Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Julian, Oceanside, Poway and Ramona.
In addition to these options, mattress shoppers can use their retailer to pick up and recycle their old mattress. State law requires any retailer that delivers a new mattress to also offer to pick up an old one at no additional cost. Whether shopping in-store or online, California consumers should ask their retailer about their take-back service.
Multimedia available upon request: Still photos and B-roll of mattresses being recycled, and a 0:30 audio spot by MRC highlighting the importance of mattress recycling.
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About the Mattress Recycling Council
The Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) is a nonprofit organization created by the bedding industry that operates recycling programs in states that have passed mattress recycling laws: California, Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island. MRC was founded by the bedding industry and recycles over 2 million mattresses each year. For more information about MRC, go to www.MattressRecyclingCouncil.org. To learn how to recycle your mattress or to find a collection location or event near you, visit www.ByeByeMattress.com.
About the City of San Diego’s Environmental Services Department:
The Environmental Services Department (ESD) ensures that City of San Diego residents have a clean and safe environment. The department pursues waste management strategies that emphasize waste reduction, recycling and composting, and environmentally sound landfill management.