Since first debuting a Mattress Collection Site three years ago, the City of San Diego announced it has diverted more than 51,000 mattresses and box springs from the landfill. This milestone marks the success of the City’s Mattress Recycling Program, a free service for residents to properly dispose of mattresses and box springs. 

Lined up end to end, 51,000 mattresses and box springs are the equivalent of more than 1,200 football fields. Diverting this waste from the landfill supports the City’s Zero Waste Plan and Climate Action Plan goals.

Additionally, since the program's launch in 2023, illegal dumping of these bulky items has decreased by 41%. 

“We are thrilled about the public’s enthusiastic participation in our Mattress Recycling Program,” said Julie Sands, Recycling Program Manager for the Environmental Services Department (ESD) for the City of San Diego. “San Diegans are keeping our communities cleaner by helping us to reduce waste and keep these bulky items out of the landfill or, worse yet, on the side of the road.” 

Residents can drop off mattresses and box springs for free at ESD’s Mattress Collection Site Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The City collects the units and sends them to a processing facility in Ontario, where they are broken down into four main components (steel, foam, fiber and wood), which are used to make new products such as construction rebar, carpet padding, insulation and mulch.  

Starting July 2027, Environmental Services will launch a bulky-item pickup program - including mattresses - at no additional cost as part of the City’s trash and recycling collection services.  

The City’s Mattress Recycling Program is made possible thanks to the Mattress Recycling Council’s Bye Bye Mattress program. Through Bye Bye Mattress, which is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, 1.5 million mattresses are recycled statewide each year. Bye Bye Mattress uses a recycling fee collected on each mattress and box spring sold in California to collect, transport and recycle used mattresses.  

For more information, visit sandiego.gov/mattress.