How to get rid of a mattress in Quincy, 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.

• Quincy runs its own residential collection, but it is a bagged-garbage service with no bulk route in it. Central Services' page says "The Solid Waste Division of Central Services provides garbage collection for residential single-family homes and buildings with four or fewer units" and that residents choosing city collection "have two options: Garbage Stickers or Garbage Totes." The guidelines are: "All garbage collected by the City of Quincy must be in a bag. Loose garbage will not be collected."; "All garbage bags must be inside an appropriately-sized container with a tight closing lid."; "Garbage bags placed in City of Quincy Garbage Totes do not need stickers."; "Small Garbage Bags (up to 16 gallons) require stickers equal to $1.50 for collection. Residents should place either 2 blue stickers or 1 red sticker on small bags."; "Large Garbage Bags (over 16 gallons) require stickers equal to $3.00 for collection. Residents should place either 4 blue stickers or 2 red stickers on large bags."; "Garbage totes/carts must be placed at the edge of the curb or alley (where allowed) at least three feet from other totes, buildings, or objects."; "Garbage totes/carts must be in place for collection no later than 6:00 am on collection day. Totes may not be set out prior to 6:00 pm the evening before collection."; "Garbage totes/carts must be removed from the street or alley no later than 6:00 pm on collection day."; "Maximum tote/cart weight is 200 pounds." Totes carry "a one-time, non-refundable drop-off fee of $60 per tote, plus a monthly collection fee of $12.99 per tote, both billed through the utility bill", and "Garbage Totes remain City property". Nothing on the page offers a large-item, bulky-waste or special pickup. The only other routes the page describes are yard waste (Evans Recycling's site at 711 West Radio Road, and weekly curbside yard waste) and drop-off recycling for "paper, cardboard, tin, aluminum, plastic (labeled 1, 2, and 5), and glass". Residents who do not use city collection "must arrange service with a private solid waste hauler", and the page lists the approved vendors as GFL Environmental 217-228-0597, Gooding Disposal 217-936-2572, Republic Services of Quincy 217-223-4100 and Steinkamp Hauling, LLC 217-228-7274. Source Not confirmed: The city publishes no on-demand bulk or large-item pickup of any kind, and no price for one. Not confirmed: Whether any of the four approved private haulers will take a mattress, and for what, is not published by the city.
• Not an option: Quincy's ordinance puts bulky waste outside the municipal collection service altogether. Sec. 50.23 ITEMS NOT COLLECTED: "The municipal collection service shall not be responsible for collection of the following wastes, except by special agreement: (A) Commercial wastes, which shall be collected and properly disposed by an authorized commercial collector; (B) Industrial wastes, which shall be collected and properly disposed of by an authorized commercial collector; (C) Bulky wastes, which shall be collected and properly disposed of; and (D) Construction and demolition waste which shall be properly disposed of at a state approved disposal site." Sec. 50.22 requires that "All city residents will be required to purchase disposal bags (as defined in Sec. 50.02) for disposal of all household rubbish or garbage and placed in the proper receptacle as defined in Sec. 50.15", and that "Any disposal bag, deposit for city collection, shall be filled so as to weigh no more than 40 pounds and shall be securely tied and sealed at the time of collection." Sec. 50.24 adds that "It shall be unlawful to place any material for the municipal collection service in unauthorized or defective disposal bags, torn bags or bundles not securely tied" and that "It shall be unlawful to store or place for residential collection with household trash any of the materials defined as noncollectible waste." Sec. 50.21 bars accumulating or storing refuse "in a method or in quantities not authorized by this chapter". A mattress cannot be put in a 40-pound sealed bag inside a lidded receptacle, and the code gives the municipal service no duty to collect it. Source Not confirmed: The chapter's definitions section (Sec. 50.02) was not read, so the code's own definition of bulky waste is not quoted here. Not confirmed: The code does not say what the 'special agreement' for bulky waste in Sec. 50.23 involves, who grants it, or what it costs. Not confirmed: The penalty amounts under Sec. 50.99 were not read.
• The code fixes Quincy's sticker prices and makes the city's recycling drop-off sites off limits for anything but recyclables. Sec. 50.26 STICKER RATES sets "Large disposal bag (over 20 gallon size) $3.00" and "Small disposal bag (up to 20 gallon size) $1.50", and provides for the tote alternative: "Residents may purchase a 95-gallon tote from the City of Quincy at the cost which the city paid for the tote. The tote would be picked up once per week. The cost of the service is $12.99 per month and will be assessed with the resident's water bill." Sec. 50.40: "The city will provide residents thereof with drop off recycling sites in the city. Materials that may be recycled will be posted at each site. Residents may drop off recycling materials between sunrise and sunset." Sec. 50.42 ILLEGAL DUMPING: "It shall be unlawful to dump, destroy, place or otherwise dispose of any materials at the drop off recycling site that are not recycling materials listed as accepted at the drop off recycling site." Sec. 50.43: "Recycling drop off sites are for use by city residents only. Commercial or business use of the site is prohibited." Leaving a mattress at a Quincy recycling drop-off site is therefore an offense under the code, not a disposal route. Source Not confirmed: The code puts the sticker bands at 20 gallons while the Central Services page states 16 gallons; the city publishes both figures and does not reconcile them. Not confirmed: The penalty amounts under Sec. 50.99 were not read.

• 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