How to get rid of a mattress in Berlin, NJ.

Section 278-9E, as amended April 11, 2024 by Ordinance 2024-06, sets the whole rule in four sentences: "Bulk trash pickup is the first full week of each month that begins on a Monday with no holidays during the week. Bulk trash can be placed curbside after 4:00 p.m. of the preceding day and prior to 6:00 a.m. of collection day. Mattresses and box springs shall be placed in separate plastic (polyethylene) bags, also known as mattress bags or mattress moving and storage bags. If bulk trash is placed curbside prior to 4:00 p.m. of the day preceding pickup, the occupant shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $100 for each day of the violation." The same 2024 ordinance put definitions of both items into § 278-6: a mattress is "A fabric case filled with resilient material (such as cotton, hair, feathers, foam, rubber or an arrangement of coiled springs) used either alone as a bed or as a bedstead or an inflatable air type sack for uses as a mattress," and box springs are "A wood or metal frame filled with metal springs and covered with cloth and that is placed under a mattress for support." Ordinary carts follow the same window, going out after 4:00 p.m. the preceding day with the lid arrows pointing toward the street and four feet of clearance on all sides, and coming off the curb no later than 6:00 p.m. on the day of collection. Section 278-10B provides that "No solid waste of any nature which is outside of the cart will be collected by the Borough," which the bulk trash provision carves out for bulk week, and § 278-10A bars garbage in bags, boxes or corrugated receptacles. Section 278-12 makes it unlawful to store the materials covered by the article in any container other than the specified receptacle, or for anyone other than authorized sanitation, fire or law enforcement personnel to disturb material placed at a curb, street or public place for collection. Property owners are charged a fee of $65 for each additional or replacement cart under § 278-9F — a cart charge, not a collection charge. No fee is set for a bulk item or for a mattress anywhere in Article II, and the Borough does not call bulk trash pickup free.

Not confirmed: No fee is set for a bulk item or for a mattress and the Borough never calls bulk trash pickup free, so what one costs is not established; the $65 in § 278-9F is the charge for an additional or replacement cart

Not confirmed: No limit on the number of bulk items per household is published anywhere in Article II

Not confirmed: The ordinance does not say which day of the first full week serves a given street

Not confirmed: Whether a bulk pickup must be booked in advance is not stated, and no phone number for it appears in the code

Not confirmed: Section 278-10B says nothing outside the cart will be collected while § 278-9E provides for bulk trash at the curb, and the Borough does not reconcile the two

Not confirmed: Whether the Borough collects with its own crews or has granted the exclusive privilege to a hauler by resolution under § 278-7 is not established

Not confirmed: Where a collected mattress goes is not stated, so the outcome is unknown

From the provider’s own page, checked Nov 6, 2026. Not confirmed by phone.

Chapter 278 Solid Waste, Article II: Collection and Removal - Borough of Berlin, NJ