Mattress disposal
How to dispose of a mattress and what your council charges
Your local tip is usually the easiest and free way to dispose of a mattress. If you can't access a local tip or recycling centre, most councils will collect you mattress for you. This usually incurs a fee. Enter your postcode below to see what your council charges and how to book a collection.
Don't forget, if you're buying a new mattress, various retailers offer to take away your old mattress for you when delivering a new one. Check with the retailer to see if this option is available. Local reuse charities or a registered waste carrier may also take your old mattress.
Checking your council...
Mattress collection in your area
Your council
Price
Price basis
Free allowance
Prices once your free allowance is used
Just the mattress: Price
Mattress and base: Price, counted as 2 items
Whole bed with headboard: Price, counted as 3 items
Checked against the council website
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The official finder below will take you to your council's bulky waste page. Wherever you live, the tip and reuse charities are options too.
Find your council's collection serviceWe check each council's price on its own website, and every result shows the date we last checked. Prices change, so confirm with the council before you book.
How much does mattress collection cost?
When we checked 100 council websites in September 2026, just over half of those with a published price charged £30 or less to collect a single mattress. That was 45 of 87 councils, with prices running from free at four of them to £82.60.
On top of the four free services, 13 councils offered a free allowance, such as one or two free collections a year, before charging. Of the 100 councils we checked, 21 offered a reduced price, or free collection, to residents on certain benefits.
Most councils we checked charge one price for a band of items, so a single mattress can cost the same as three. Some charge per item, and a few charge for the first item and less for each one after. Before you book, check how your council counts a base or headboard, so you're not charged for more than you expected.
Wide gaps between councils aren't new. A National Bed Federation survey, sent to all 385 UK waste authorities and published in January 2024, found collection prices ranging from free to £76.30.
Other ways to get rid of a mattress
If the council price doesn't suit, or you'd rather your mattress was reused, these routes work across the UK.
Hand it back when you buy new
Many mattress retailers will take your old mattress away when they deliver the new one. Add it when you order and check the price, as the service and the fee vary by retailer.
Give it to a reuse charity
Charities and reuse projects that take mattresses need them clean, with no rips or stains, and with the fire safety label still attached. Our guide to mattress fire safety labels shows what to look for. If yours passes, Reuse Network can help you find a charity near you.
Take it to the tip
Most household waste recycling centres accept mattresses. Some ask you to book a slot or limit how many you can bring, so check your council's tip page before you load the car.
Use a registered waste carrier
If you pay someone to take it, check they are on the Environment Agency's public register of waste carriers first. If an unregistered carrier fly-tips your mattress, you can be fined up to £600 in England.
Outside England, use the register run by your nation's regulator: SEPA in Scotland, Natural Resources Wales, or DAERA in Northern Ireland.
Before collection day
Keep it dry. Many councils refuse a wet mattress, so store it indoors or under cover until the morning of collection.
Count every piece. Councils often count the base, the mattress and the headboard as separate items, which can push you into a higher price band.
Renting? Check first. Many council collections exclude items that belong to a landlord, so check who is responsible before you book.
Bag it if you can. A mattress bag keeps it clean enough to donate and protects it from rain while it waits outside.
Will your mattress be recycled?
It depends on where you live: some councils send the mattresses they collect for recycling, while others send them to landfill or burn them to make energy. The National Bed Federation said in January 2024 that 6.4 million mattresses are thrown away in the UK every year.
Its survey of UK waste authorities found a wide gap. In Wales, mattress parts were recycled in over 86% of council areas, while in parts of England as few as 11% of councils used recycling.
If recycling matters to you, ask your council what happens to the mattresses it collects. When you buy a new mattress, ask the retailer the same question before you pay for its take-back service.
Mattress disposal questions
Can you take a mattress to the tip?
Yes. Most household waste recycling centres accept mattresses, and in England councils can't charge residents to drop off household waste. In September 2026, 61 of the 100 council websites we checked said their tips take mattresses, and none said they don't. Some sites ask you to book a slot or limit how many items you bring, so check your council's tip page before you go.
How can I get rid of a mattress for free?
In England, the simplest free option is your local tip, as long as you can get the mattress there. A clean mattress with its fire label still attached can go to a reuse charity instead: the British Heart Foundation, for example, offers free furniture collection. Some councils collect for free too: when we checked 100 in September 2026, four didn't charge for a single mattress and 13 gave a free allowance before charging.
Can you put a mattress in a skip?
Sometimes, but ask the skip company first. Some firms accept mattresses, often for an extra charge, and others won't take them, because mattresses are bulky and need special handling.
Can I leave a mattress outside my house?
No, not unless your council has booked a collection and told you where to leave it. Colchester City Council, for example, warns that leaving a mattress on the street counts as fly-tipping. The same goes for one left at the end of your drive with a "free" sign on it, and either can lead to a fine.
What is the fine for fly-tipping a mattress?
In England, councils can issue a fixed penalty of up to £1,000 for fly-tipping. If you pay someone to take your mattress and they dump it, you could be fined too, because you have a duty to check they're a registered waste carrier. That fixed penalty is up to £600, with each council setting its own amount, and a case can go to court instead.
Sources
- Council collection prices: our check of 100 council websites, 8 and 9 September 2026
- New data reveals huge gap between UK councils' provision for recycling mattresses, National Bed Federation, January 2024
- The Local Authorities (Prohibition of Charging Residents to Deposit Household Waste) Order 2015, legislation.gov.uk
- Bigger fines possible for littering and fly-tipping, Defra, July 2023
- Household duty of care, Southend-on-Sea City Council
- Dumped bulky waste, Colchester City Council
- Can you put a mattress in a skip?, Mick George
- Furniture collection: about your items, British Heart Foundation
- Donate items, Reuse Network
- Public register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers, Environment Agency
- Apply for special collection of large waste items, GOV.UK
Last reviewed October 2026. Council prices were checked on 8 and 9 September 2026, so confirm the current price with your council before you book.