How to get rid of a mattress in Tamaqua, PA.

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.

• Tamaqua gives every household a weekly bulky item on top of its bags, caps it by weight, and never says whether a mattress counts. The Borough's public notice of February 23, 2022 states that "Tamaqua garbage customers are reminded that there is a limit of 6 garbage bags and 1 bulky item per household per week" and that "The garbage collector is not required to pick up quantities greater than 6 bags and 1 bulky item." What qualifies is described in one sentence: "Bulky items consist of large household items such as furniture, carpet and appliances." Bedding is not named, and neither is it refused. The weight limits are explicit: "Garbage cans and bags cannot weigh more than 50 pounds each and bulky items cannot weigh more than 275 pounds each. Items that exceed these weight limits will not be picked up" — a cap a mattress comfortably clears, since a mattress runs 50 to 100 pounds. There are "no limits on the amount of ashes or recyclables that can be put out for collection." Set-out is the night before: "Garbage and recyclables must be placed at the curb for pickup the night before collection." The refusal list is specific and does not include bedding: "Items that may not be put out for collection include hazardous waste, asbestos, compressed gas cylinders, combustible materials, latex and oil-based paint, batteries, tires, electronics and appliances containing freon such as refrigerators and air conditioners." The Borough does run a paid drop-off, but it is for electronics only and not for bulk: residents may bring computers, laptops, monitors, televisions and computer peripherals to the Tamaqua Municipal Building, 320 East Broad Street, where "Disposal fees are $5 for one item, $8 for two items and $10 for three items and there is a limit of 3 items per household per month", open to Borough residents with proof of residency. Those figures attach to the electronics program alone and are not a bulky item or mattress charge. No fee at all is published for the weekly bulky item, and the Borough does not call it free. Source Not confirmed: The Borough never names a mattress or a box spring: bedding appears neither on the list of what a bulky item is nor on the list of what may not be put out, so whether a mattress may be set out as the weekly bulky item is not established Not confirmed: No charge is published for the weekly bulky item and the Borough does not state that it is free, so what a bulk item costs beyond the regular garbage charge is not established Not confirmed: No wrapping or bagging requirement for bedding is published by the Borough or attributed to its contractor Not confirmed: This notice is dated February 23, 2022 and the Borough has published no later restatement of the bag and bulky item limits
• Tamaqua contracts its collection rather than running trucks of its own: the Borough's collection page states "Tamaqua Borough contracts with Casella Waste Systems for collection of refuse and recyclables", giving the contractor's address as 20 Sewer Plant Rd, Tamaqua, PA 18252 and its phone as (570) 668-4515. The allowance is restated on this page in the same terms as the Borough's public notice: "Maximum 6 bags or containers not to exceed 50 pounds each, one bulky item not to exceed 275 pounds, and all ashes." Trash days run by district — Monday for the South Ward, Tuesday for the North Ward, Thursday for the East End and Owl Creek, and Friday for Dutch Hill — with recycling collected Borough-wide on Wednesday. Recycling may be set out in an open bin or crate and "Bags will not be accepted." The Borough also offers a recycling drop-off restricted to its own residents: it is "for Tamaqua Borough residents ONLY", and the page asks residents to "call the office for details and procedure" rather than publishing the location, hours or terms. The refusal list on this page covers appliances with CFCs such as refrigerators and air conditioning units, asbestos, tires and electronics, together with hazardous waste, batteries, paints and oils. A mattress appears nowhere on the page. Source Not confirmed: The recycling drop-off is described only as being for Borough residents, with no address, no hours and no list of what it takes, because the Borough asks residents to telephone for the procedure; it is not established that it accepts a mattress, and nothing suggests it does Not confirmed: No fee schedule for refuse collection appears on the page

• Operator location page gives 219 Street Road, West Grove PA 19390; DEP permit 101069 directory gives 261 Street Road. Preserve both; no automatic address overwrite or branch merge. Source
• Seven facility cards distinguish YCRRC/Small Load Drop-Off at 2651 Blackbridge Road from management at 2700, recycling at 2685 Blackthorne Court, ash site, recreation and sanitary landfill. Operator ZIP 17406 differs from DEP YCRRC ZIP 17402. Source
• No statewide mattress stewardship program or landfill ban found on PA DEP pages as of 2026-09-22; mattress disposal is handled by local governments. Source
• PA DEP County Recycling Coordinators directory (select county) for local drop-offs and events; RecycleSearch for material-specific facilities; DEP Recycling Hotline 800-346-4242. DEP says bulky items go through your refuse hauler, or your county recycling coordinator if you have none. Source