How To Dispose Of A Mattress In NYC The Best Way

If you want to know how to dispose of a mattress in NYC, we’ll simplify the process in two steps for you. Different states vary in guidelines and laws regarding mattress disposal, so it’s your responsibility as a New Yorker to know the proper mattress disposal in NYC. We will also discuss the scheduling in NYC to ensure that you won’t experience issues. 

Are you not familiar with how to throw away a mattress as well? Don’t worry because we included tips below to ensure that your bed won’t become an issue for you and your neighbors in case of canceled appointments. Without further ado, here is a New Yorker’s guide for mattress disposal. 

 

How To Dispose Of A Mattress In NYC Properly?

 

Step #1. Prepare

To avoid getting in trouble due to illegal dumping or getting a trash disposal complaint, you need to cover and schedule your mattress or box spring for pickup. Use a plastic bag and seal your mattress or box spring completely. It’s worth noting that a partially covered bed on the curb with regular trash can still get you reported. 

If you think about it, this is an understandable directive since it will deter others from picking it up. A properly sealed mattress will also prevent the spread of bed bugs in case it’s infested. But what happens if you did not cover or prepare the bed or box spring for pickup?

It won’t get collected first, and you might even get a fine for $100. And since the City doesn’t provide a specific cover or bag to use, it should be easy to find one at most stores and supply centers. The only requirement for NYC is never to use a red or orange cover for sealing the mattress for disposal. 

 

Step #2. Schedule

Now that you know how to prepare the mattress, please do not set it out the curb yet. New York enforces a schedule that you can only place the bed outside between 4 pm and midnight on the evening before the day you have your appointment. You read that right, you have to schedule an appointment for pickup and if you fail to have the bed at the time of collection, you have to make a new schedule. 

Any mattress that is twin, twin XL, full, queen, and king requires an appointment to have them disposed of. You can also check your bed’s exact dimensions and see if it will be larger than 4 feet by 3 feet. As for the other requirements with scheduling, continue reading below. 

 

Does NYC Sanitation Pick Up Mattresses?

The NYC Department of Sanitation will pick up your old mattress, and you need to have it at the curb on the evening before your scheduled appointment between 4 pm and midnight. However, you can also reschedule or even cancel the appointment using a service request number or call 311 by phone. The only limitation for cancellation and rescheduling is you can’t do it online, and you can only do so until 4 pm the day before your set schedule. 

 

Rescheduling and cancellation

What are the other potential reasons for rescheduling or canceling pickup? A common cause of canceled pickups is snow, and the Department should reschedule with you once the snow operations are not happening. If someone else also happens to request your preferred schedule, you can make a separate appointment on a different date. 

What if you want to add more items for disposal? You can simply have them along with your mattress at your appointment. However, be mindful of these items as they might also have other requirements as with mattress disposal. 

 

When Can I Throw Out A Mattress In NYC?

 

Appointment schedule

You can throw out a bed in NYC on the day of your appointment. But if the Sanitation failed to pick up the mattress, you can file a missed collection complaint and leave it at the curb. This is why it’s crucial to have a service request number, or else you need to reschedule. 

 

Trash collection day and recycling collection day

You can also have the items on the curbside the evening before your collection date and then schedule an appointment if you failed to make one before. However, remember that the Sanitation Department will only collect the mattress and other things for disposal if they are in a designated area like a curb or alley. 

Otherwise, the mattress can be deemed “unserviceable” since it’s on a potential private property. Another final thing to remember when scheduling a mattress collection is that there are sanitation holidays in New York. If it’s a holiday on your trash collection day, have the mattress after 4 pm that day, but if the holiday is on your recycling collection day, put the bed outside after 4 pm the day before your next scheduled recycling collection day.

 

Conclusion

Much like in other places in the US, New York has regulations and laws regarding mattress disposal. You must know how to dispose of a mattress in NYC properly to avoid complaints and fines. It’s relatively easy to understand anyway since all you need to do is seal the bed well and have a schedule before setting it out the curb.

Please re-read this article and check with the Sanitation Department if you have other concerns such as cancellations or if your bed has a particular condition.