How to get rid of a mattress in Richmond, VA.

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.

• Richmond's adopted code answers the set-out question the city's own service pages do not. Code of the City of Richmond Chapter 23 defines a 'Bulk item' as 'any refuse, other than an appliance or hazardous refuse, that does not fit into an empty mobile container or supercan', which is the class a mattress falls into. Section 23-44(a): 'Refuse receptacles, recycling bins, and bulk items must be placed out for collection by 6:00 a.m. of the scheduled collection day but not earlier than 4:00 p.m. of the day preceding', and receptacles and recycling bins 'must be removed by 7:00 a.m. on the day following collection from City property or right-of-way'. After two written notices in the same calendar year, a further failure to bring the receptacle in draws 'a civil penalty in the amount of $50.00', added to the account holder's monthly utility statement and collected like any other utility charge. Section 23-44(b): 'The Director of Public Works shall establish a schedule for the collection of bulk items at no charge. However, upon a request for same-day collection of bulk items, a fee of $100.00 shall be charged. A fee of $50.00 shall be charged for the collection of appliances.' Section 23-44(f): 'Fees for collection may only be waived during City-designated cleanups or declared emergencies.' Section 23-44(g) requires property owners who file for eviction to remove items placed outside within 72 hours; if they do not, the City removes them and assesses the building owner a $250.00 removal fee. Version shown: FEB 18, 2026 (CURRENT). Source Not confirmed: The ordinance does not use the word 'mattress'; it reaches a mattress through the general 'bulk item' definition rather than by name.
• The city announced a pilot mattress recycling program run with the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority at 1710 Robin Hood Road (northeast corner of Robin Hood Road and Arthur Ashe Boulevard), with pre-drop-off beginning Sunday September 15 and a drive-through event Saturday September 21, 2024, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It was free and open to City of Richmond residents with proof of residency; clean or lightly soiled mattresses and box springs were accepted, and wet, heavily soiled or bed-bug-infested items were rejected. Volunteers unloaded items. The release describes the recycling as keeping mattresses out of landfill space and preventing flame retardants and synthetic fibers from leaching into soil and water. Source Not confirmed: This was a one-week pilot event in September 2024; the release does not say the program continues or recurs, and no standing city mattress recycling drop-off was found. Not confirmed: No fee schedule, quantity limit or recycler name is published.
• Not an option: Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia, which operates the donation centers serving the Richmond area, lists 'Mattresses and box springs' among the items it cannot accept. The organization also states that it does not offer home pick-ups, directing donors to bring items to its donation centers. Source

• Governor vetoed HB 86 (2026 session), which would have created a mattress recycling program with a purchase fee; veto statement dated April 13, 2026 calls mandating all retailers join a single program and raise prices unworkable. No statewide mattress program in effect. Source
• Virginia DEQ operates no statewide item locator. Its Statewide Recycling Programs page tells residents "Your local government website or recycling coordinator is the best source for detailed information on recycling and special collection events" and, to find where to recycle hard-to-dispose items, to contact the Recycling Program Manager in their locality; it names the third-party Earth911 website as the universal resource. The only product-specific statewide program listed is Computer & Electronics Recycling under Virginia's Computer Recovery and Recycling Act. The page's list of common Virginia recyclables does not include mattresses or furniture. Source
• Virginia's recycling mandates are rate mandates on localities, not material bans: each county, city, town or regional authority (Solid Waste Planning Unit) must maintain recycling programs meeting at least 15% (low population density or high unemployment) or 25% (all others), must maintain a Solid Waste Management Plan, and may be required to file a Recycling Action Plan if it falls short. No material is banned from disposal and mattresses are not mentioned. The page links a statewide "Recycling Program Managers (by Locality)" contact list (deq.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/29928/639154037491930000) and the Solid Waste Planning and Recycling Regulations at 9VAC20-130. Source
• Mattress Recycling Council's Program States page names exactly four program states — California, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Oregon. Virginia is not among them; MRC's head office is at 501 Wythe Street, Alexandria VA 22314, but it runs no Virginia program. This is consistent with the existing record that Virginia's 2026 mattress recycling bill (HB 86) was vetoed. Source