Free Recycling of Mattresses and Box Springs

As of Dec. 30, California became the second state in the nation with a statewide recycling program for used mattresses and box springs in an effort to reduce mattresses in landfills and incinerators.

• COMPLETE LISTING OF FREE LOCATIONS FOR MATTRESS RECYCLING IN CALIFORNIA

The program, known as Bye Bye Mattress, allows California residents to drop off used mattresses and box springs at participating collection sites and recycling facilities for free, according to the office of state Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Oakland, who authored the legislation to create the program.

Hancock hosted an event at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Tuesday to publicize the new program.

Hancock said in a statement, “With this new recycling opportunity, California is taking another step toward zero waste and giving our people another way to improve both their neighborhood quality of life and the environment of our planet.”

The program is funded through an $11 recycling fee that is collected when a mattress or box spring is sold to California consumers. The fee is used to pay for transporting and recycling the discarded mattresses, according to Hancock’s office.

She said, “Californians have justifiably always taken pride in our efforts to increasingly reuse and recycle our waste.”

According to her office, Bye Bye Mattress is administered by the Mattress Recycling Council, a non-profit organization formed by the mattress industry to operate recycling programs in states that have enacted recycling laws.

--Bay City News; Image by Thomas Bresson via WikiMedia