How to get rid of a mattress in Bloomington, IL.

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.

• Bloomington City Code Chapter 21 Article IV sets the householder's obligations. Section 21-403(A) is the storage and set-out window: "Except for a period of time beginning at 2:00 p.m. on the day prior to the scheduled collection day and ending at 9:00 a.m. on the day following the collection day, all refuse and refuse containers shall be stored on the owner's premises, screened so as to prevent their being viewed from the street." Section 21-404(A) allows refuse to be placed out not earlier than 2:00 p.m. on the day prior, "placed so as not to present a hazard to pedestrian or vehicular traffic", and treats placement on the owner's property as authorization for collectors to enter. Section 21-401(C) requires that "Bulk waste shall be prepared so as not to be a hazard", with doors removed from refrigerators and other large appliances before collection - there is no wrapping or bagging requirement for a mattress anywhere in the chapter. Section 21-407, as amended December 8, 2025, restricts the City's Drop-Off Facility: it is closed annually from January 1 through March 21, "shall only accept yard waste and recyclable materials ... from occupants or owners of residential property served by the solid waste program", and "shall not accept garbage, appliances, bulk waste, or building waste." Source Not confirmed: Section 21-407 as amended says the Drop-Off Facility shall not accept appliances, while the City's Citizen Convenience Center web page still lists appliances as accepted and gives closure dates of January 1 to March 31 rather than March 21; the two were not reconciled. Either way neither text allows bulk waste, so a mattress is excluded on both.
• Not an option: Bloomington's drop-off site will not take a mattress. The Citizen Convenience Center at 402 S. East Street, Bloomington, IL 61701 - the corner of East and Jackson, south of the Bloomington Public Library - is open to Solid Waste Program customers at no extra charge beyond the monthly cart fee, Wednesday 11:00 a.m. to 6:45 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 7:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., Saturday 7:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday, closed from January 1 to March 31 and on municipal holidays. The acceptable materials list is leaves, brush (trees, shrubs, bushes), garden trimmings (flowers, plants, fruit and vegetable trimmings, pumpkins), grass and thatch clippings, appliances and empty propane tanks with the valves removed - furniture, mattresses and bulk waste are not on it, and the City Code's own drop-off section excludes bulk waste outright. Concrete, rock, shingles and brick are no longer accepted. Users must show a City utility bill in their own name proving they are billed for the program plus a valid Illinois driver's license or state ID matching it, and the ID is scanned to record the address; businesses, contractors, persons for hire and not-for-profits are barred, as are vehicles with company markings, and customers unload their own materials. Source
• Not an option: The Habitat for Humanity ReStore at 1402 W. Washington St., Bloomington (open Monday through Saturday 10am-5pm) does not take mattresses, and its own FAQ says where to go instead. Asked "Do you carry mattresses/box springs?" it answers: "We do not carry mattresses or box springs, but we recommend Kern Mattress Outlet for discounted items or Recycling Furniture for Families for one-time furniture aid. For a full list of the items we accept, check out our donation page. We do carry bed frames and head/footboards in a variety of sizes and styles." Elsewhere the same page lists the things it never sells as "clothes, dishwashers, and mattresses". The store specializes in homewares, furniture, tools, appliances and building materials, runs free pick-ups for donations it does accept, and puts its proceeds into Habitat for Humanity of McLean County. Source
• Not an option: There is no mattress recycler in Bloomington-Normal or McLean County. The Ecology Action Center - the agency that runs recycling education for McLean County, Bloomington and Normal, and publishes RecycleBN.org - issues the county recycling guidelines, and its list of "Other Recycling and Reuse Options in Bloomington-Normal" routes furniture and home goods to exactly two places: "Habitat ReStore 1402 W Washington St. 309-454-6047" and "Recycling Furniture For Families 515 N Center St. 309-829-6500", both reuse outlets rather than recyclers, with the note "Appliances must be in working condition. Please call ahead for donation details." The guide names dedicated outlets for batteries, CFL bulbs, plastic bags, clothing and textiles, automotive fluids, electronics (Normal Public Works, 1301 Warriner St.), pharmaceuticals and latex paint, and drop-off recycling locations at Jewel Osco, Crossroads Center, Heartland Community College Lot K and Walmart - no mattress entry appears anywhere. Illinois has no statewide mattress recycling program and no MRC collection site. Source

• Residential body says Saturday 8–2; same-page footer says 9–1. Both show weekdays 8–4. No Saturday schedule selected. Source
• Locator retains Landfill 33 Saturday 7 a.m.–11 p.m. exactly as printed; implausible closing time requires confirmation. Two Columbus District Office cards are distinct OH and IN addresses, not duplicates. Source
• Illinois EPA recycling page offers a 'Beyond The Bin' ArcGIS map of recycling locations, an Earth911 ZIP locator and the Recycle Coach app (statewide partnership since 2025). No mattress stewardship program mentioned. No statewide mattress stewardship program or landfill ban found on Illinois EPA pages as of 2026-09-22; mattress disposal is handled by local governments. Source
• There is no state mattress recycling program in Illinois, and the absence is worth stating plainly because the four states that have one give residents free drop-off. The Mattress Recycling Council, which runs the Bye Bye Mattress collection network, lists its programs on its own Programs page as operating in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island. Illinois is not among them. Three things follow for an Illinois resident: no recycling fee is charged on an Illinois mattress sale, there is no MRC-funded free drop-off anywhere in the state, and nothing obliges a retailer, hauler or municipality to recycle a mattress rather than landfill it. Recycling in Illinois is therefore a private arrangement wherever it exists at all — the drop-offs and recyclers listed on this page are businesses and charities choosing to do it, not a program a resident is entitled to. Source