A used mattress is one of the hardest things to donate and one of the worst to leave at the curb. Here are your real options in Austin — recycling, bulk pickup, the UT move-out crunch, and flat-price haul — with the costs and catches.
Snap a photo — flat price back in seconds. A queen is $139.
Upload a Photo & Get Quote →Start here because most people do: for health and hygiene reasons, Goodwill Central Texas, the ARC stores, and nearly every Austin charity won't accept a used mattress — occasionally one that's practically new and unstained, but rarely. Don't count on donating a mattress you've slept on for years.
Austin's recycling & reuse drop-off center and private mattress recyclers will break a mattress down for its steel springs, foam, and wood so it stays out of the landfill. The catch: you have to haul it there yourself, and some charge a small processing fee. Worthwhile if you've got a pickup and an hour.
If you're a residential city-trash customer, a mattress can go out on your scheduled bulk-collection week. But it's not on demand, apartments don't have it, and a mattress left out off-schedule is a code violation — and an HOA fine in the suburbs. Check your bulk week first.
If you're near UT, West Campus, or Riverside, leases end July 31 and thousands of mattresses hit the curb at once. Complexes fine you for dumpster-dumping, the bulk schedule can't keep up, and everyone's trying to move the same week. This is the moment flat-price pickup earns its keep — we run those neighborhoods hard through August, often same-day.
Send a photo, get a set price by size (twin $111, full $126, queen $139, king $154, box spring $124), and a crew carries it down the stairs and out — walk-up, no elevator, no stair fee — and disposes of it responsibly. Add the frame or the rest of the room in the same quote. No truck, no recycling run, no HOA risk.
| Option | Cost | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Donation | Free | Almost never accepted (used) |
| Recycling drop-off | Free–small fee | You haul it there |
| City bulk pickup | Free | Set schedule; not apartments |
| Curbside off-schedule | Free | Code + HOA fines |
| Flat-price pickup | $139 (queen) | Just book it |
Prices are flat and photo-quoted; $75 minimum, disposal included. TX sales tax added where applicable.