How to get rid of a mattress in Austell, GA.

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.

• Austell does not let residents choose a hauler: it awards one. The city's Residential Garbage page states: "The Mayor and City Council approved an exclusive contract with Waste Pro, Inc. to provide residential solid waste collection and disposal for all residents within the City of Austell. We do not provide commercial solid waste collection or disposal services at this time. This new service became effective January 1, 2023." The published monthly fees are Solid Waste (1 bin) $20.00, Solid Waste (extra bin) $16.00, Recycling (1 bin) $12.00 — "Will be added to your utility bill if requested by application" — and Recycling (extra bin) $16.00. The city's own information guide adds that "Waste Pro is the only approved vendor authorized to collect household sanitation and recycling from residential property owners inside the City of Austell", and that for "residential properties outside of the city limits" that receive an Austell water or sewer bill the city offers "these same services at the City's rate". The page also documents an opt-in and opt-out program and an opt-out affidavit. Neither the rate table nor the contract description mentions bulky items or mattresses. Source Not confirmed: Neither the city's rate table nor its description of the Waste Pro contract says whether weekly curbside service includes a bulky item or a mattress, or what Waste Pro charges an Austell household for one. Not confirmed: The opt-out affidavit's terms are not published on the page, so whether an opted-out household keeps access to the city's bi-annual clean-up is not established.
• Austell's only city-run route for a large item is a twice-yearly clean-up that the city says it charges for without saying how much. The Bi-Annual Cleanup page states: "The Mayor and City Council have designated February and November of each year to collect items that are not routinely collected for a fee." It then itemizes what is refused: "We WILL NOT collect the following items: Capacitors, Light Ballast, Asbestos, Metal Drums, Fuel Tanks, Medical Waste, Paint Cans, Glass, Sinks, Fences, Propane Gas, Household Garbage, Food Waste, Tree Stumps, Closed Containers Of Any Kind, Refrigerators, Air Conditioning Units, Tires, Other items deemed hazardous, Carpets, Pallets, Antifreeze/freon, Padding, Flooring, Insulation, Building Materials". The list reaches down to padding, flooring and insulation and does not name mattresses or box springs. Outside the two clean-up months the city's year-round large-item collection is limited to metal goods: "Austell Public Works will continue to collect washers, dryers, hot water heaters, and metals throughout the year within the City Limits of Austell (City Taxpayers)." The page also warns that a property-maintenance ordinance prohibits "Garbage carts in plain view" and "Junk cars, trash, and refuse" on any premises, that "The City's Code Enforcement Officer has the authority to cite the offender for an ordinance violation, and the individual will be required to appear in Court", and that "Fines may be levied for disregarding the ordinances." An older city guide gives the clean-up months as April and October, so the months have changed and the current page governs. Source Not confirmed: The city states the bi-annual clean-up collects items "for a fee" but publishes no amount, so the cost of putting out a mattress in February or November is not established and must not be treated as free. Not confirmed: Mattresses and box springs are neither named as accepted nor listed among the items the city will not collect, so whether the clean-up takes bedding at all is unestablished — an absence from the refusal list, not a refusal. Not confirmed: The fine amount for a property-maintenance citation is not published.
• Austell's own collection guide sets the curbside rules a resident with a large item has to work around, and ties two services to paying city tax. On timing and placement: "Remember to have my trash and recycling cart out at curbside by 7:00 am on collection day"; carts must sit "close to curbside without blocking the sidewalk or mailbox"; and "All receptacles must be moved out of view from the street or intersecting streets of any corner lot and must be placed behind the primary dwelling or privacy fence after collection." Overflow is charged for, not refused: "Trash and recycling must be inside bin for it to be disposed of. If you have excess amount of trash that does not fit in the bin, bags MUST be purchased at City Hall. When you purchase the bag, it needs to be next to the bin on collection day in order to be picked up." Two services carry a tax test rather than a residence test: of leaf and limb collection and of the bi-annual clean-up the guide says of each, "You must pay City of Austell taxes to receive this service." The guide also states that "No special wastes shall be placed with garbage, bulk waste, or other wastes", and that back-door collection is free where a resident supplies an annual letter from their primary care physician. Source Not confirmed: The price of the City Hall overflow bag is not published in the guide. Not confirmed: The city's 2014 Solid Waste Collection, Disposal and Recycling Ordinance is published only as a scanned image PDF with no extractable text, so its bulky-item, set-out-window and illegal-dumping sections could not be read or quoted. Not confirmed: The guide gives the clean-up months as April and October while the current city page gives February and November; the guide is undated on its face beyond a list of revision dates ending 09/19.

• Georgia EPD recycling resources page sends residents to Earth911's ZIP-code locator and the Georgia Recycling Coalition. It notes scrap tires are banned from Georgia landfills but lists no mattress rule. No statewide mattress stewardship program or landfill ban found on Georgia EPD pages as of 2026-09-22; mattress disposal is handled by local governments. Source