How to get rid of a mattress in Fair Haven, NJ.

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: Fair Haven's own recycling center will not take a bulky item, so a resident cannot self-haul a mattress to it. The borough opened the facility recently - "The Borough of Fair Haven is pleased to announce our new Fair Haven Recycling Center, which opened on August 1, 2025" - at 1 Allen Street, open Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., closed Sunday. What it accepts is a short list: cardboard in a designated area with no packing materials; newspaper, mixed paper, plastic and glass bottles and aluminum cans in designated dumpsters; electronic waste through Monmouth Wire & Computer Recycling, Inc.; a Helpsy clothing donation bin; and American flags in a gray bin. The refusal is printed directly under the heading "Do NOT dispose of the following" and names bulky items outright: "Plastic bags in dumpsters", "Household trash", "Construction materials or debris", "Bulk items, scrap metal, or tires", and "Motor oil or paint". A mattress is a bulk item in the borough's own vocabulary - Chapter 16 defines bulk items as including used furniture and the quarterly curbside run is called the bulk pickup - so the center is not a route for one, and a resident who drives bedding to 1 Allen Street should expect to be turned away. Access is also conditional: "Residents are reminded that proof of residency may be required upon entry", and the ordinance behind it, § 16-6.1 as amended March 24, 2025 by Ord. No. 2025-03, requires that each user "shall present identification with legal proof of Fair Haven residency" and that "Proof of residency must be provided upon entering the facility." The borough adds that "All items disposed of at the Public Works facility shall be considered Borough property". The borough also repealed its own appliance drop-off: the former § 16-6.2a on delivery of major appliances to the Borough garage, and the former drop-off fee for them, were both "repealed 3-24-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-03", so even appliances can no longer be taken there. Fair Haven directs motor oil and paint instead to the Monmouth County Household Waste Site at 3211 Shafto Road, Tinton Falls. Source
• Fair Haven runs a shore town's calendar: its trash week doubles for the summer and halves again in the fall. The borough's Garbage and Recycling Schedule states "May 15th through September 15th - TWO COLLECTIONS PER WEEK", "ALL ZONES - TUESDAY AND FRIDAY", and "SEPTEMBER 16TH through MAY 14TH - ONE COLLECTION PER WEEK", "ALL ZONES - TUESDAY ONLY", explaining that "Household Refuse is collected twice each week during warm months, from May 15th through September 15th, and once each week from September 16th through May 14th." Timing is strict and there is no second chance: "YOU MUST HAVE YOUR GARBAGE AND RECYCLING CAN OUT BEFORE 6:00AM ON YOUR PICK-UP DAY (or preferably the night before the schedule pick up day). THE CONTRACTOR WILL BE UNABLE TO RETURN FOR YOUR TRASH OR RECYCLING, SHOULD YOU PLACE THE CAN CURBSIDE AFTER COLLECTION HAS TAKEN PLACE." The can must be out no earlier than 5 p.m. the night before and no later than 6 a.m. on the day, removed within 24 hours, with lids fitting tightly. The borough states that "Hazardous items and construction items are not permitted", and separately that "CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS are not accepted by the Borough in Household or Bulk Collection", directing cabinets, drywall, lumber and concrete to Monmouth County at 732-683-8686. Extra cans may be bought at Borough Hall, and "those with more than one trash container per address will be charged additional tipping fees." Recyclables may also be taken in: "YOU MAY BRING CARDBOARD and OTHER RECYCLABLES TO THE PUBLIC WORKS FACILITY AT 1 ALLEN STREET MONDAY through FRIDAY (7:00 AM TO 3:30 PM) and SATURDAY (9:00 am to 3:00 pm)". The borough notes that "A wide variety of bulk items that are no longer needed at your home may be suitable for recycling at the Monmouth County facility" and that "Special facilities will accept items not collected by the Borough such as construction debris as well as computers, small appliances, clothing and packing materials", pointing residents to the county hotline at 732-683-8686 and to Betty Ann Berube at Borough Hall at 732-747-0241, extension 219, for a list of those resources. Failure to comply with borough recycling regulations "may result in a summons". Source Not confirmed: The borough's general schedule page gives the summer season as May 15 through September 15 while its 2026 notice gives twice-weekly collection as running from May 15 through September 11, so the exact end of the 2026 summer season is not settled between the borough's own two documents. Not confirmed: The page says bulk items may be 'suitable for recycling at the Monmouth County facility' without naming bedding, so it does not establish that a mattress is accepted there.

• NJDEP County/Municipal Recycling Coordinator Locator lists municipal (updated August 2026) and county (updated July 2026) coordinator contacts. No statewide mattress stewardship program or landfill ban found on NJDEP pages as of 2026-09-22; mattress collection is handled by counties/municipalities. Source