How to get rid of a mattress in University Place, WA.

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.

• University Place Municipal Code ch. 12.20 governs waste disposal and is where the local rules sit. UPMC 12.20.090 makes it 'unlawful to deposit, throw, or place any refuse or other solid waste in any land, alley, street or other public place, or to deposit, throw or place any refuse or other solid waste on any private property, regardless of ownership, unless the refuse or other solid waste is placed in a solid waste cans, containers, or toters'; it separately bars burying solid waste on any land in the city and depositing waste 'into a collection container which another person owns or pays for the use of without that person's express consent'. UPMC 12.20.100 presumes responsibility 'by the discovery of two or more pieces of litter within such illegally deposited litter which are identifiable to such person'. Penalties are steep: UPMC 12.20.110 gives a civil fine 'up to $1,000 for each day that a violation occurs', with the city allowed to 'give a person up to 72 hours to correct a violation before imposing any fines', and UPMC 12.20.120 makes a wilful violation a misdemeanour punishable by up to 90 days, up to $1,000, or both. On bulky items beyond the free annual pickup, UPMC 12.20.080 says the 'Hauler may collect other nonhazardous, special materials, but such materials may be subject to time charges or other special fees. Examples of special materials include loose and/or bulky materials, demolition materials, car or truck tires, and appliances. A complete list of special materials subject to extra charges or fees is available at both City Hall and the offices of authorized refuse haulers.' UPMC 12.20.050 also lets the hauler 'refuse to collect cans from curbside customers which are located more than five feet away from the curb or edge of the roadway.' Source Not confirmed: The code says a complete list of special-material charges exists at City Hall and at the hauler's offices, but it is not published online, so no paid mattress price for University Place could be established.

• County warehouse referral has Everett locality and 425-931-3670; primary operator now directs drop-off to Mukilteo and uses 425-876-0107. County directory appears stale for this referral. Source
• No enacted Washington mattress stewardship law found. SB 6271 (2026; companion HB 2633) would create mattress producer responsibility organizations; referred to Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Jan 21, 2026, public hearing Feb 4, 2026, no later action shown. Source
• Ecology's 1-800-RECYCLE locator (1800recycle.wa.gov) lists 'Home & Garden - Mattresses' as a searchable material; hotline 1-800-732-9253, Mon-Fri 9am-3pm. Ecology's How to Recycle page also directs residents to county or city solid waste officials. Source
• There is no mattress recycling program in Washington State, and the absence is worth stating because both neighbors have one. The Mattress Recycling Council, which runs the Bye Bye Mattress collection network, says of itself: "We currently provide resources, education and support for programs in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island." Washington is not among them. A Washington resident has no free state-funded drop-off of the kind an Oregonian twenty miles away in Milton-Freewater or Hermiston has, and no Bye Bye Mattress collection site to look up. What the county charges at the gate is what the resident actually pays. Source