How to get rid of a mattress in Virginia Beach, 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.

• Virginia Beach City Code Chapter 31 is the only city source that names a mattress. Section 31-28(a) provides that 'Privately owned residential refuse receptacles, including automated refuse receptacles and containers for recyclables, oversized household trash and bulky items such as refrigerators, water heaters, washing machines, other household appliances, furniture, mattresses and similar items, the contents of which are to be collected by the city or a city contractor, shall be placed on the curb line of a city right-of-way no earlier than 5:00 p.m. on the day before collection and by 7:00 a.m. on the day of collection.' All receptacles 'must be removed out of view of the public after collection on the day of collection'. Section 31-27(a) states that 'Oversized household trash, and bulky items such as refrigerators, water heaters and washing machines shall be collected by the city one (1) time each week at the curbside; provided that, the service of collecting these articles shall only be provided when a special order is placed by telephoning the waste management division in advance.' Section 31-3.1(a) makes a violation of section 31-28 a civil penalty of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for the first violation and fifty dollars ($50.00) for each subsequent violation, each day being a separate offense. Source Not confirmed: The ordinance sets no per-item fee, no free allowance and no annual limit on bulky collections. Not confirmed: The code does not say whether mattresses collected at the curb are landfilled or recycled. Not confirmed: No wrapping or bagging requirement for a mattress is published.
• Virginia Beach City Code section 31-31 excludes most shared housing from city collection entirely: 'The city shall not provide refuse collection to apartments, residential condominiums, duplexes, or other multiple-unit residential buildings unless each unit or duplex is individually located on a separate lot abutting the right-of-way of a publicly maintained street.' Section 31-28(d) adds that 'The city will not make refuse collections on private property.' Illegal dumping is dealt with by section 31-10, which makes it unlawful to 'Cast, throw, place, sweep or deposit anywhere within the city any building and construction materials, hazardous waste or refuse' in a way that it may be carried onto a street or other premises; under section 31-10(d) 'Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by confinement in jail for not more than twelve (12) months and a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) or more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00), either or both.' Section 31-3 makes any other violation of the chapter a class 1 misdemeanor. Source Not confirmed: The code does not say what a resident of an excluded apartment or condominium should do with a mattress instead.
• Not an option: Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads ReStore, whose Virginia Beach store is at 955 Providence Square, Virginia Beach, VA 23464 (Tuesday through Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., donations accepted until 4:30 p.m.), lists 'Mattresses or box springs' among items it does not accept, alongside hazardous materials, outdated electronics, paint, glass, infant items and oversized office furniture. It accepts appliances under ten years old, cabinets, clean undamaged furniture, building materials, flat-screen electronics under three years old and housewares, and offers free pickup of eligible items. 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