How to get rid of a mattress in Phenix City, AL.

Companies that come to your home and carry the mattress out, so you need no vehicle. The prices below are starting prices unless stated — stairs, box springs and extra items add to them.

Most charities will not take a used mattress. These are the ones we checked, including the ones that say no.

• The Salvation Army (satruck.org): accepted-items list includes 'Mattresses' and beds; also says local ordinances and need vary by location and to call 1-800-SA-TRUCK to confirm what a local center accepts. Source
• Doesn’t take mattresses. Habitat for Humanity national ReStore guide: 'Mattresses and box springs are not accepted.' Source

Policies vary by branch. Call before you carry one over — we asked each of the big three directly: Goodwill, the Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity.

What we established about this city in particular — including where it runs nothing of its own and residents have to look elsewhere.

• The Phenix City code draws the line by size and weight, and a full-size mattress falls on the charged side of it. Sec. 70-68(a) gives the free weekly entitlement to containerised yard waste "not exceeding 50 pounds in weight and tree trimmings and shrubbery cuttings not over six feet in length or four inches in diameter or 50 pounds in weight and originating on private premises from which the city removes garbage and trash for a service charge", "without additional charge therefor; provided, however, not more than one 20-cubic yard-load per week shall be moved without charge on any one collection day. The charge for additional loads shall be based on the current collection rate schedule as approved by city council." Then Sec. 70-68(b): "Items over six feet in length, four inches in diameter, or 50 pounds in weight will be picked up by special collection. Arrangement for collection will be made with the public works office and charges will apply according to the current collection rate schedule as approved by city council." And Sec. 70-68(c): "Bulk items such as electronics, appliances and tires shall be arranged for pickup with the public works office. Costs for collection and disposal shall be based upon the current collection rate schedule as approved by the city council." A twin mattress is 75 inches and a queen or king 80 inches - six feet is 72 - and a mattress runs 50 to 100 pounds, so an ordinary adult mattress is over both thresholds in subsection (b). Every charge in the chapter is deferred to a schedule: Sec. 70-22(b) "The charges that shall be collected by the city for the collecting, hauling and disposal of garbage and trash for each month shall be as now or hereafter established by the city"; Sec. 70-72 "Fees to dump waste at the city's C&D landfill are based on the current fee schedule approved by city council." Sec. 70-71 sets the dumping rules: no garbage or debris on streets, sidewalks or alleys, none "upon the property of another person", none in "creeks, streams, ditches or lakes and ponds lying within the city", and uncontainerised leaves, pine straw or weeds left at the curb "shall be removed by the limbs and debris division and a service charge based on the current fee schedule shall be billed to the owner or tenant". (Ord. No. 91-08, 6-4-1991; Ord. No. 2007-39, 11-20-2007.) Source Not confirmed: the code never names a mattress, a bed or bedding anywhere in chapter 70 Not confirmed: the code commits the city to charging for special collection of an over-size item and states no figure - every charge is deferred to a "current collection rate schedule as approved by city council", and no residential bulk or special-collection figure appears in the rate ordinance that schedule points to (see al3c-phenixcity-004)
• The rate ordinance the city links from its trash page sets a bulk-pickup charge for businesses only, and none at all for a household. Ordinance No. 2024-03, amending Chapter 70, Section 22, "Effective March 1, 2024, the following charges shall be collected by the City for the collecting, hauling and disposal of garbage and trash for each month": "(1) Residences (one-family in the City Limits) $23.72; Additional Carts (each) $14.76"; "(2) Apartments and multifamily residences using garbage container per unit or family $23.72"; "(3) Office buildings or professional buildings Per tenant $34.80"; "(4) Mobile Homes or trailer parks using garbage Container, per trailer or mobile home $23.72"; "(5) Businesses or Commercial Establishments Other than those listed above $34.80"; and "(6) Businesses or Commercial Establishments Requiring bulk pickup in addition to container Service, per bulk pickup $86.36". The ordinance adds "These fees shall increase each March 1st at the same percentage rate as any increase in the single family residence rate in the City's contract garbage service", and was "PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED, this 19th day of March, 2024". The $86.36 per-bulk-pickup figure is written against businesses and commercial establishments and against no residential class; nothing in the ordinance prices a residential bulk or special collection. Source Not confirmed: no residential bulk-pickup or special-collection charge is set anywhere in this ordinance, so the charge Sec. 70-68(b) authorizes for an over-size item remains unpublished; the $86.36 figure must not be read across to a household, because the ordinance places it under "Businesses or Commercial Establishments" Not confirmed: the ordinance's own covering memorandum names Waste Management as the contract hauler in February 2024 while the city's current trash page names 121 Disposal, so which company holds the contract today is not settled by these documents
• Not an option: Phenix City's own landfill is shut and would not have taken a mattress anyway. The city states the site is "PERMANENTLY CLOSED" under Hours of Operation, and above that: "The city's C&D Landfill is nearing full capacity. Due to this, City Council has placed a moratorium on the disposal of debris by the public and agencies. The city is aware that this may cause an inconvenience for some and is working diligently to permit and construct a new landfill", referring to "Resolution No. 2018-306 regarding the moratorium for debris disposal". What it took when open was construction waste only: "The landfill receives construction and demolition waste from citizens of Phenix City and Russell County. Sanitary waste is directed to the Salem Landfill. A list of construction and demolition waste is posted at the landfill." Location: "44 Landfill Road, Phenix City, AL 36869", off Hwy 431 west of the main Industrial Park Entrance. "Fees for disposing of waste are based on the weight and type of refuge. The fees are in accordance with City Ordinance 2015-11. Payment is required at time of disposal." Source Not confirmed: the city names "the Salem Landfill" as where sanitary waste is directed but gives no address, hours, rate card or public-access terms for it
• The two city recycling centers are for containers and paper, not for furniture. "There are two recycling facilities in the City of Phenix City." Acceptable items: "Aluminum, Cardboard, Paper, Plastics (labeled #1 - #7), Steel, Tin". Unacceptable items: "Appliances, Lawn Equipment, Household Garbage, Glass, Medical Waste (Needles)". Locations: "1100 Airport Road, Phenix City, AL 36867" and "709 12th St., Phenix City, AL 36867". No hours, proof-of-residency rule or charge is published on the page. Source Not confirmed: a mattress appears on neither the acceptable nor the unacceptable list, so the city has not refused one by name - but every accepted category is a recyclable commodity and appliances are refused outright Not confirmed: no opening hours and no residency rule are published for either site

• ADEM recycling program page covers SWRMMA (2008): 25% waste-reduction goal, $1/ton statewide disposal fee, local recycling grants and funds to clean up illegal dump sites. No mattress-specific content. No statewide mattress stewardship program or landfill ban found on ADEM pages as of 2026-09-22; mattress disposal is handled by local governments. Source