If you’ve ever tried to dump an old mattress at the curb in Los Angeles, Riverside, or anywhere else in Southern California, you already know the answer the trash truck gives you: not happening. Mattresses are bulky, hard to compact, and California has specific laws about how they get disposed of. The good news? You actually have more free and low-cost options than most people realize, and you don’t have to drag a king-size pillow-top down the freeway by yourself.
Here’s the full guide to getting rid of an old mattress legally in SoCal — what’s free, what costs money, and when it makes sense to just call a junk removal crew and be done with it.
California passed the Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Act back in 2013, which created the statewide Bye Bye Mattress program. The program is funded by an $11.75 recycling fee added to every new mattress sold in California — that fee is what pays for the recycling infrastructure across the state. In exchange, residents get free drop-off and (in some areas) free pickup of old mattresses.
Beyond the law, there are practical reasons cities won’t take mattresses with regular trash:
Translation: tossing a mattress in the alley isn’t a shortcut. It’s a citation waiting to happen.
This is the cheapest option if you have a truck or SUV and don’t mind doing the work yourself. Bye Bye Mattress operates participating drop-off sites across Southern California. As of 2026, you can find collection points in:
Most sites accept up to 10 mattresses or box springs per visit, free of charge. Find your closest location at byebyemattress.com/locations.
Many SoCal cities offer free or low-cost bulky-item pickup that includes mattresses. This is the easiest option if you don’t have a truck. The catch: you usually need to schedule it in advance, and pickup days can be 1–3 weeks out.
Call your local waste hauler or check your city’s website. The downside: you have to drag the mattress to the curb yourself, which is rough on stairs, narrow hallways, or two-story homes.
If your mattress is clean, stain-free, less than 10 years old, and still structurally sound, donation is worth considering. Charities that accept mattresses in SoCal include:
Be honest with yourself though: most charities reject mattresses with stains, tears, sagging, or smells. If you wouldn’t sleep on it, don’t donate it — they’ll just have to pay to dispose of it.
If your mattress has bed bugs or is heavily soiled, it cannot go through Bye Bye Mattress or normal donation channels. California requires bed bug-infested mattresses to be:
This protects sanitation workers and prevents infestation spread. Don’t shortcut this step.
The DIY options above are great if you have time, a truck, and the muscle to wrestle a king-size mattress through a doorway. For everyone else, hiring a junk removal crew is faster and (often) not as expensive as people assume.
Typical SoCal pricing for mattress removal in 2026 runs $75–$150 for a single mattress, with discounts when bundled with box springs, frames, or other furniture. The price covers:
This option makes sense if any of these apply: your mattress is on a second floor, you don’t own a pickup truck, you’re moving and time-crunched, you’re cleaning out an estate or rental, or you have multiple mattresses plus other furniture going at once.
If you’re in Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, or anywhere across Southern California and you want your old mattress out of the house this week — not next month — we can help. 911 Junk CA offers same-day and next-day mattress removal, bundled pricing for multiple items, and we recycle every mattress we pick up through certified Bye Bye Mattress channels. No landfill, no hassle.
Call 911 Junk CA today for a free, no-obligation quote on mattress removal anywhere in SoCal. Two crew members, one truck, and a clean bedroom in under an hour.
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