How to get rid of a mattress in Fitchburg, WI.

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: The city's free drop-off site is not an option for a mattress. "The Fitchburg Recycling Drop Off Site is open to City of Fitchburg residents only, during daylight hours only," at the Public Works Maintenance Facility, 2373 S. Fish Hatchery Rd. It accepts only yard waste, invasive species, scrap metal, cardboard, motor oil, oil filters, and plastic film and foam products. The city then states that "Any item that does not have a designated collection area is prohibited from the Drop-off Site including, but not limited to" dehumidifiers, carpet, construction materials, tires, "Furniture," appliances, electronics and refuse. Surveillance cameras are in place and the city says violators dropping off unacceptable materials will be ticketed. Source Not confirmed: The prohibited list names furniture but not mattresses, and is expressly "not limited to" its items, so the page does not settle a mattress by name.
• Fitchburg's set-out window is set by ordinance, and it is tighter after collection than before. Code of Ordinances Sec. 41-21(b) requires that all refuse and recyclables be placed "at the required collection point not sooner than 24 hours prior to the regularly scheduled collection time and no person shall permit refuse or recyclables or containers thereof to accumulate or remain at the curbline longer than 12 hours thereafter." Sec. 41-27 lists twelve categories of items that may not be placed at the curbline for collection, among them stone, concrete, rubber, earth or sod, waste tires, tree trunks or stumps, construction debris and "Containers over 32 gallons or over 50 pounds, except containers provided by the hauler"; bedding appears nowhere on that list. Sec. 41-131 provides that "No person shall dump, dispose, deposit or store refuse or recyclables in the city outside of a licensed sanitary landfill facility on either private or public lands," and Sec. 41-30 allows the director of public works to issue a citation collecting forfeitures. Source Not confirmed: Sec. 41-30 sets penalties by cross-reference to section 1-21, which was not read, so the dollar forfeiture for a Chapter 41 violation is not established.
• The hauler's Fitchburg collection packet confirms that nothing bulky is collected without paying first: "Bulky item pickup information is listed on the last page of this packet. There is a fee for this service." White goods, furniture, "Large items or an item that does not fit into the cart," tires, construction and remodeling waste, electronics, basement cleanouts and brush all "require prepayment and special instructions to follow." The packet instructs residents to "make a list of the items you want to discard, including the type of material they are made out of then call our office at (608) 257-4285." Carts themselves must be set out by 6:30 A.M., within two feet of the street and four feet apart, and trash bags that do not fit in the cart are not collected unless a current trash tag has been purchased at the second floor desk at City Hall. Source

• 7 Rivers lists W6833 Industrial Blvd., Onalaska WI 54650 and phone (507) 205-2082. Operator describes recovering steel, foam and fibers from mattresses. Name and full address support the original national-directory facility identity; directory phone 608-783-6727 x103 differs. Source
• DNR RID=104 Rodefeld record FID 113127300 lists 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, Madison 53713-1400, while county landfill page gives customer location 7102 Maahic Way, Madison 53718. Preserve both; registry address may be administrative but that explanation is not verified. Source
• La Crosse FAQ directs arrivals to 3240 Berlin Drive; DNR RID=104 FID 632063630 lists 3200 Berlin Dr, La Crosse 54601-1818. Keep source-address discrepancy explicit rather than overwriting either. Source
• Wisconsin DNR list of materials banned from landfills/incinerators (containers, cardboard, paper, #1-2 plastics, electronics, lead-acid batteries, major appliances, oil filters/waste oil, tires, yard waste) does not include mattresses. Source
• Wisconsin DNR: residents find their local recycling 'responsible unit' via an RU contact list, an RU map (experience.arcgis.com/experience/e2a75fccdc834fd5be13acd9fede067f) or a municipality-to-RU lookup. Source