How to get rid of a mattress in Quincy, MA.

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.

• Not an option: Quincy runs a generous curbside bulk allowance and a mattress is carved out of it. The DPW's How Can I Get Rid Of? list says "Two bulky items per week, sofas, chairs, recliners, and lawn furniture may be disposed of curbside" — and, immediately above, "Mattresses are no longer picked up on your regular trash day". For a mattress the city instead tells residents to call South Shore Recycle at (617) 837-1299 or to book through an online scheduling link, adding that pickup depends on vehicle and staff availability. The city's Waste & Recycle page repeats the same two routes, pointing mattresses at (617) 837-1299 while appliances, TVs and monitors go to the city's hauler at (855) 533-3400 "at least one full business day before your regular trash pick-up" and furniture needs no call at all. So in Quincy a sofa goes out free with no phone call and a mattress does not go out at all. Source Not confirmed: Quincy publishes no price for the South Shore Recycle mattress collection it refers residents to, and South Shore Recycle publishes no rate card of its own, so the cost of the only route the city names is not established Not confirmed: The city does not say whether the South Shore Recycle arrangement is a city contract or simply a referral
• Quincy's curbside collection is limited by building size, which decides whether the bulk allowance above is available at all. The DPW's Trash page says the city provides "weekly curbside trash and recycling collection for its residents of one- to eight-family dwellings and condominiums", and that "Businesses and apartment buildings with more than eight units must privately contract for solid waste removal." Set-out is "by 7:00 AM on the morning of your pick-up day", and under the state sanitary code "no rubbish may be put out for collection more than one day prior to scheduled pick-up." The page also warns that "Curbside collectors are not required to lift anything in excess of 50 lbs" — a figure that matters for bedding, since a mattress runs from about 50 to 100 lb. Move-outs and clean-outs are excluded: "Capitol Waste is not contracted to collect trash or debris from 'move-outs'", and residents are told to contract privately for those. Source Not confirmed: The city does not state whether the 50 lb lifting limit is applied to bulky items such as furniture and bedding or only to carts and bagged trash Not confirmed: No illegal-dumping penalty or fine amount is published on the city's waste pages
• Quincy has a free residents-only drop-off yard, and bedding is not on its list. The DPW Yard is "located behind the administrative offices at 55 Sea St.", entered from the Sea St. parking lot next to the Police Station, open "Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM" and "Saturday 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM (April 4, 2026 through December 5, 2026)". Access is checked: "DPW Yard is for Quincy Residents Only" and "A valid MA Driver's License is required to use the rear yard", with commercial plates needing prior written approval from the Commissioner's Office. What it takes is "All Scrap Metal", appliances including washers, dryers, water heaters, stoves and air conditioners but "NO REFRIGERATORS or DISHWASHERS", single-stream recycling, textiles, mercury-containing items, books, CDs and DVDs, and yard waste. What it refuses is "Oil and Gasoline", "Trash", "Tires", "Wood", "Construction Debris", "Latex or Oil Paints" and "Any Chemicals", the page adding that "The DPW yard is not a landfill and cannot accept household trash and construction debris." No fee is listed for anything. A mattress or box spring appears in neither list. Source Not confirmed: Mattresses and box springs are absent from both the accepted and the refused lists for the DPW Yard, so whether a Quincy resident may bring one to 55 Sea St is not established; the page links to a fuller list that was not reachable

• State survey labels Concord Event, while its primary mattress page provides recurring appointment drop-off and monthly pickup. Keep the incoming event label as historical survey evidence; it must not restrict current research to events. Source
• Residents outside served towns may arrange drop-off: $30 per unit, generally Tue/Thu 8:30am-2:30pm. Receiving address supplied only after email. Page describes facility in Lawrence; original national directory lists Haverhill. Source
• FAQ says $35 at both branches and gives resale Mon-Sun 9am-7pm, conflicting with service page $40 and Mon-Sat 9am-5pm; FAQ also states Mon-Sat 9am-5pm elsewhere. Resale ZIP 02744 differs from service page 02745. FAQ allows arranged disposal of non-recyclable units for extra fee; service page rejects them at pickup. Recycling recovers 75-80% by weight, not guaranteed complete diversion. Source
• Fitchburg operator closes 3pm versus MRC card 126 3:30pm. Operator charges drop-off fees; card labels free drop-off but separately says not a program participant and fees may apply. Preserve contradictory directory fields without promoting a free service. Source
• MassDEP: effective November 1, 2022, mattresses are banned from disposal or transport for disposal in Massachusetts. MassDEP offers municipalities a Contaminated Mattress Certification Form, bill-of-lading example, and ban-compliance guidance. Source
• MassDEP resident guidance: donate good-condition mattresses via the MassDEP Beyond the Bin Recycling Directory, use retailer haul-away on delivery, or contact the local health, public works, or recycling department about town collection. Municipalities may use Recycling Dividends Program funds and statewide contract FAC90 for mattress recycling. Source
• MassDEP says most furniture and mattress sellers accept old mattresses for recycling/disposal when delivering new ones; framed as advice, not a statutory retailer take-back mandate. Source
• No Massachusetts mattress stewardship program is in effect. H.1023 (194th session, An Act to establish a mattress recycling program) was reported favorably and referred to House Ways and Means on August 11, 2025; no enactment shown. Source